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Tag Archives: improvements
Save Big Bucks on Your Taxes
We’ve been looking at the new IRS regulations on how to classify repairs and improvements for tax purposes. The voluminous regulations contain some things that are pretty good for owners of residential rentals and commercial properties, and some things that aren’t so good.
Among the good things is a safe harbor for materials and supplies. An expense for any property that comes within this safe harbor may be currently deducted.
Exactly what are materials and supplies? Find out…
Small Home Improvements With Big Returns for Sellers
Even in a housing market where inventory is low, buyers still want a move-in ready house and are willing to pay more for one that’s turn-key. Sellers can increase their listing price and decrease the time their home sits on the market just by doing a few home improvement projects, experts say. But not all projects carry the same return.
“A big mistake a lot of home sellers make is they upgrade the kitchen thinking they will make so much more money on the house. But the rest of the house still needs upgrading or repairs,” says Michael Corbett, Trulia’s real estate expert. Home sellers have to look at repairs as a whole rather than a sum of parts, he says.
Good News for Owners of Smaller Residential Rental Properties
A recent column (“IRS finally provides guidance on building repairs vs. improvements“) explained that the IRS has finally issued the final version of its monumentally long and complex regulations explaining how to deduct improvements and repairs to business property, including commercial buildings and residential rentals.
The final regulations, which take effect Jan. 1, 2014, contain several pleasant surprises for small-business owners, including owners of rental properties. One of these is the “safe harbor for small taxpayers” (IRS Reg. 1.263(a)-3h).
This new reg allows a qualifying taxpayer to elect to not apply the IRS’s complex new improvement regs to an eligible building if the total amount paid during the year for repairs, maintenance, improvements and similar expenses does not exceed the lesser of $10,000 or 2 percent of the unadjusted basis of the building (usually, its cost).
Claim Energy Efficiency Tax Credit for Homeowners Before it’s Gone
The federal government wants to encourage homeowners to make their homes as energy efficient as possible. To do so, back in 2005 Congress enacted a tax credit for “nonbusiness energy property.”
This was a tax credit (subject to a $500 lifetime cap) for certain energy efficiency improvements to a taxpayer’s existing principal residence. The credit expired at the end of 2011, but was brought back from the dead by the fiscal cliff tax deal back in February. It was made retroactive to apply to 2012 and then expire at the end of 2013.
So, if you haven’t used up your lifetime $500 limit already, 2013 could be your last chance to do so.
Experts’ Top Home Improvement Projects for a Booming Housing Market
More consumers are dusting off their cordless drills, tape measures and jigsaws, or at least are shelling out for paint, spackle or flooring products. Home remodeling is on an upswing, according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. A byproduct of rising home sales during this past year, new homeowners are spending more at big-box stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot for their DIY projects. Home sellers are also adding to the increased sales at home improvement stores as they spruce up a home before putting it on the market. TV programmers, meanwhile, have been paying attention — and adding new home-improvement series or renewing old ones.
How Much Does it Really Cost to Decorate?
Eight designers share secrets about the costs of assembling finished spaces—and the numbers may surprise you!
Surveys such as Remodeling magazine’s “Cost vs. Value” report detail how much it costs to complete a variety of major popular home improvement projects each year, including the always popular kitchen and bathroom redos.
But those numbers don’t reveal many of the additional expenses that give a room a truly finished look: a good paint job, built-in cabinetry, furnishings, carpeting, lighting, accessories, and so much more. Buyers and sellers who haven’t recently decorated or remodeled have no clue how quickly costs add up — sometimes exponentially.
Replace or Reface Kitchen Cabinets?
Mary Saunder disliked the cabinets in her kitchen from the moment she moved into her Maryland, home. “They were metal, the color of bronze,” Saunder says, “but my husband’s motto was ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.'” When her husband passed away last February, Mary decided it was time to act. “I couldn’t stand it any more,” she says. But rather than spend the $25,000 or $30,000 redoing the kitchen with new cabinets would have cost her, she settled on a simpler, cheaper and far less intrusive solution.
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What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment!
6 Low-Cost Luxuries for Owners on a Budget
So you think you can’t afford an upgraded, tricked-out pad? Not so fast! Every owner deserves to come home to a place that’s beautiful, comfortable, and accommodating to their lifestyle — without going into debt. Even if you haven’t become a homeowner yet, understanding which champagne-style comforts can be inexpensively added onto a home after closing can provide powerful inspiration for sticking to your beer budget. Here are a few of those little, affordable luxuries.
14 Ways to Style Your Mantel for Spring and Summer
The mantel is often the focal point of the living room in winter, but it can be hard to know how to decorate the fireplace once warmer weather arrives. Do you play it up with fresh colors and artwork, or let it hide out behind strategically placed chairs and plants? No matter the approach you prefer, these 14 styling ideas should spark your imagination.
