Home Repairs and Maint. as replated to home office expense

[julieandgeoff202]

I had the following repairs and maintenance, to my home in 2023.

My home office is about 8 % of my total home sq. ft.

Am I allowed to take the following Indirect Expenses at 8% of total cost since they relate to the entire home?

-All floors in home (including home office room) were repaired, stripped and resealed

-Front porch cover at entry of home and a window repair

-Exterior of home – stucco patch repair and paint

I also had the following repairs, but since they pertain to the kitchen and yard only, are they not deductible at the 8% of total cost?

-Kitchen cabinets - patch repairs and repaint

-Kitchen refrigerator water valves replaced

-Backyard fence repairs

Thanks!

[DianeW777]

Yes, you are allowed 8% of any repair costs that relate to the entire home. 

Capital Improvements: Extend the life of your asset and is not an ongoing repair expense.

This would include the improvements to the part of the home not related directly to the home office.  In other words, any capital improvements to the entire home are eligible to be use as part of the cost of your home.  For any year after the year your business began, you would add an asset called improvements.  The home office use percentage will be applied to this new asset.  

Note:  This information applies if you are using actual costs and not the simplified home office deduction.

[julieandgeoff202]

Thanks Diane,

I understand what you are saying but I am confused by IRS pub. 587 pg.s  5-7. 

On page 6,  it lists "unrelated' repair expense examples such as  (painting a room not used for business), that are not deductible, but then on page 7, it mentions all repairs such as mending and painting that are deductible, (using my office sq. ft. percentage

So are all of the repairs, that I listed, ipreviously, ncluding painting the kitchen and repairing the fence, deductible at my home office sq. ft. percentage?

[ThomasM125 · Accepted solution]

The expenses that relate to your home office are deductible. For instance, if you painted the entire outside of the house, that would affect your home office so a portion of that expense would be deductible. If you just painted a bedroom that is not a part of the home office, it would not be deductible. 

In the list you mentioned, the floors, porch and exterior are improvements to the house as a whole, so they would be depreciated as such and a portion would belong to the office. The kitchen work sounds like repairs that are not related to the office so they are likely not deductible. The backyard fence would apply to the office as it belongs to the house as a whole.