what kind of home improvements are deductible
All capital improvements to your home are tax deductible. You cannot claim the deduction until you sell it when the cost of additions and other improvements are added to the cost basis of your property. The IRS defines a capital improvement as a home improvement that adds market value to the home, prolongs its useful life or adapts it to new uses.
Improvements to a Business. All repairs, additions and improvements to a property used in connection with a business, or one that produces income, such as a rental, are tax deductible, regardless of whether they are capital improvements. The businessperson must declare the expense as depreciation to recover the cost.
Deducting Home Improvements From Home Sale Profit. If you make substantial physical improvements to your home -- even if you did them years before you started actively preparing your home for sale -- you can add the cost to its tax basis. This will reduce the amount of any taxable profit from the sale.
Using your mortgage to make home improvements. One way to save on the costs of home renovation is to make the improvements to the home at the time it is purchased. If the mortgage you take out to buy a home includes additional money to make renovations, your acquisition cost for the home includes this amount. You can then deduct the interest on this amount from your income as part of your mortgage interest deduction.