Are expenses to remediate mold and remove water in my home that are not covered by insurance deductible?

[matthias-5]

Tree roots broke through outside drainage which leaded to water entering a finished basement. This led to growth of mold. Had to hire a mold remediation company to clean up. Also had to hire plumbing company to replace all outside drainage. Sent claim into home owner's insurance and was told it was not covered. Can the costs for remediation and replacement of outside drainage be deducted?

[Carl]

Costs of repairing your primary residence or any other type of "personal use" real estate are never deductible.

[Cynthiad66]

Mold remediation is not deductible unless there is a medical reason.  Also, there is no casualty loss deduction either since this had to occur over a period of time.  Casualty losses occur suddenly.

The deduction for personal casualty or theft losses has been suspended (eliminated) through Tax Year 2025, unless the loss occurred in a federally-declared disaster area and was directly caused by the disaster.

[Opus 17]

Home maintenance is something you should be doing to maintain the value of your property.  There are no special tax considerations for repairs and maintenance.

As said, a slow-moving problem is not a casualty loss, even if the loss occurred in a declared disaster area.

Improvements are not deductible, but they add to the cost basis of the home and may reduce your capital gains when you sell.  An improvement is something that is permanent and that adds to the value of the property or that extends the useful life of the property or its systems.  Replacing the sewer drains would count as an improvement.

Mold remediation could be a medical expense, if someone in the home has a diagnosed mold-related disease.  In that case, the costs would only be a deductible medical expense if they did not increase the value of the property.  The portion of the cost that increased the value of the home would be added to the cost basis instead of being a deductible medical expense.