Home Repairs : Any tax advantages?

Question

I closed on a sub-ground condo less than a month ago. Last week I found a damp area in one of the bedroom closets. I’m anticipating that it may be due to a crack in the complex’s foundation, since it is localized to a single area, and is adjacent to the foundation.

I’m planning for the worst case scenario expense wise, so I wanted to see if anyone has been able to find ways to write off these sorts of repairs for their owner-occupied units?

Dave Toelkes · Answer

Typically, the exterior structural wall is a common element owned by the condominium association.  If you have an issue with the foundation or an exterior structural component of your unit, notify your asssociation manager immediately and ask them to repair.

If the association determines that the issue you report is not their responsibility, then any cost to repair your primary residence would be a personal, non-deductible expense

Kamran Rahman · Answer

Appreciate the info. I’m out here in Seattle, but I’m sure any NE folks who stumble upon this thread could find what you mentioned useful! Thank you.

Ashish Acharya · Answer

@Kamran Rahman , Usually the repair of the personal residence is a personal cost that would not be a write-off. However, residents in the northeastern part of the U.S. have experienced problems with certain residential concrete foundations that contain pyrrhotite, which can cause concrete to deteriorate prematurely.

In 2017, IRS provided a safe harbor that allowed taxpayers to treat the costs of repairing such damage as a casualty loss in the personal tax return.

And this foundation loss is unaffected by the New tax law that eliminated casualty loss limitation.  Just throwing it out there if this was applicable to you.

Kamran Rahman · Answer

This is very helpful! Thank you. I shot an email to my HOA. I agree with what you said about the HOA. I will assume the worst.