I had tenants that trashed the carpet in the rental property and it was so gross and smelled so bad that I hired someone to tear out the carpet and pad while we were cleaning up the rest of the mess that the tenants left. A month or two later, I got new carpet installed. I know the new carpet is an improvement that should be depreciated, but can the carpet removal be considered a cleaning expense? I'm not sure since normally removing the old carpet is considered part of the job of installing new carpeting, even though there is a separate charge for it.
