I have a rental property which I leased out for 9 months (Jan - Sep) of 2016. The tenants moved out (30 Sep) and I spent the next ~2 months making repairs to prepare the house for sale ($4500 for new carpet, $1350 to fix a brick patio, $1850 paint, $230 in yardwork, and miscellaneous expenses for cleaning supplies, furnace annual check, carbon monoxide detectors, etc.) . The house was listed for sale in December and went under contract in January.
I have read information stating that some items are improvements (added to cost basis of house) and some items are repair (deduction?). Making matters more complicated is that I just sold the house in March 2017 after making more repairs ($1100 radon reduction installation, $370 plumbing repair) in 2017.
Should I list all expenses in their appropriate year and how should I categorise the expenses?
