The renovations can't save you money this year, but they might save you some money when you sell the house. When you sell, your profit will potentially be taxable. The profit is basically the amount you sell the house for minus the amount you paid for it. But you can add the cost of the renovations to the amount you originally paid for the house. That reduces the amount of profit that you might have to pay tax on. But you might qualify to exclude up to $250,000 of the profit from tax ($500,000 if you are married). So if your profit turns out to be less than that, the cost of the renovations might not make any difference. But hold on to all the receipts and records of the renovation so that you have the information available in case you need it when you eventually do sell.