I have a single rental unit in my owner-occupied building, and last year when the space went vacant I undertook several repairs of walls, floor refinishing, painting etc and also renovated the bathroom - mostly myself but with a $4500 plumbing bill as well. I am really struggling to get through the safe harbor rules. 2% of the unadjusted basis of my building is $5500. I understand that because all the work was done in the timeframe of a renovation that the entirety of the work could be bundled under depreciating assets, but I could really use some relief as the work totaled $15000 and I am very small-time. Is there any reason I can't expense via safe harbor several of the DIY receipts or even the floors ($2400) and then bundle the remaining costs under assets? Or can I carefully extract all receipts related to the wall/floor/etc repairs to maintenance and put the bathroom renovation receipts in the asset category with the plumbing bill? For context I am not a real-estate professional and have an unrelated job.
