Landscape work at rental property - Repair or improvement?

[louisgabriles]

The lawn of our rental property was inundated with sticker burrs/grass burrs when we bought it. After fighting the stickers for 2 years, our landscaper strongly recommended complete scraping of the property and re-sodding - which we agreed to. We installed a sprinkler system during the sod replacement project. While the heavy equipment was on-site, we also paid him to remove and replace trees which did not survive the deep freeze from the prior year.  

Are these expenses considered repairs or improvements? 

[TomK2023]

These are improvements.  Residential real estate with a life expectancy of 27.5 years.

[Rick19744]

@TomK2023 wouldn't this be land improvements depreciated over 15 years?

[TomK2023]

Yes, an argument can be certainly be made for the 15-year depreciation classification, but opting for 27.5 years is the more conservative option.