I see lots of confusion with this. It's true that something such as a driveway would be depreciated over 15 years. But $50,000 for a driveway? Really? Is the house set 5 miles back from the road requiring a 5 mile long driveway to get to the house? That's the only way I can see a driveway costing that much. There are some things that would actually make this 27.5 year property.
If you installed a driveway and covered carport or enclosed garage, the entire project cost is depreciated over 27.5 years because it is "in fact" an improvement to the structure in it's entirety. Even if the carport already existed and you just replaced the concrete floor and the driveway part to the street, it's 27.5 year property.
Another area of contention is when someone pours a concrete patio out back and tries to claim that as 15 year property. It's 27.5 year property because the intent of a patio is to expand the "usable floor space" to the outside of the structure.
