Rental Property. If I rebuild a rotted wood deck, is that a capital expense? How about adding rain gutters where there were none before? Depreciate for how long?Thanks

[Hal_Al]

Those are both capital expenditures. They are considered building components and must be depreciated over 27.5 years. However, they may qualify for the new (2015) write off rules.

The Three New Safe Harbor Rules

 1.      Safe Harbor for Small Taxpayers (SHST) The 2% rule

2.      Routine Maintenance Safe Harbor 

3.   De Minimis Safe Harbor Up to $2500 (from $500) for 2016, but unofficially allowed for 2015  You can still use the De Minimis election for anything that qualifies.  You may use the safe harbor to deduct amounts up to $2,500  per invoice or item (as substantiated by invoice). https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tangible-property-final-regulations

This option will come up in the TurboTax interview