Deductibility of rental renovation travel expenses

[rmk9785e]

I have a rental property in another state being managed by a property management company. It required a lot of renovation when it became vacant last August after 5 years of rental. That renovation project required extensive day-to-day management, product selection/purchasing and decision making beyond what the management company could handle so I decided to take over the property management for a month and asked a retired family member for a favor to manage it for me. He had to travel out of state, rent a car and make living arrangements while there for about a month. Am I able to deduct the costs of air travel, car rental, room & board for this family member?

[PaulaM]

If you reimbursed your families members costs, then they would be added to the renovation costs and depreciated along with the project.

[rmk9785e]

Thank you. I just reimbursed him in cash. Didn't think of getting a receipt. Should I get a receipt?

[rmk9785e]

Additionally, some of the renovations are 'repairs' while others are 'improvements'. I assume the travel expenses would be accounted with improvements. Right?

[PaulaM · Accepted solution]

Yes, the reimbursed expenses are added to the improvement costs. Document the travel costs in some way for your records (worksheet, receipt etc).