Claimable tax expenses on rental property

Broderick

Registered User
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Good afternoon,

Hope you can help me!

I have rented my home to a HAP family and need to carry out repairs and improvements to the house. I want to add a bathroom to the main bedroom. There is currently one bathroom in the house which was sufficient when I lived at the house, now with seven people living in the house, a second bathroom is needed.

In addition the existing bathroom needs to be upgraded. There is a build-up of condensation on the walls and ceiling causing damp patches, water is running down the side of the bath into the living room below. I want to replace the bath with a shower unit, tank the walls to prevent water running into the sitting room. Add warm board to the external wall to prevent damp. Put in an extractor fan. Replace wall and floor tiles.

I have been given a quote of €8,400 for the repairs and upgrade. I am considering borrowing the money.

Q. 1. Am I right in thinking that the interest on the loan to carry out repairs and upgrade can be offset against my tax liability?

Q. 2. Is it the case that only repairs, can be claimed as expenses for the year in which they are undertaken and that costs for new ensuite bathroom and existing bathroom upgrade must be claimed as capital allowances over an 8 year period @ 12.5% each year?

I really appreciate your help and look forward to your response.
 
According to revenue you can claim tax relief for a mortgage to improve your property. I don't know if just borrowing a small amount of money would be considered a mortgage. See revenue site for other expenses.

 
Thanks for your response - much appreciated!

I am looking at extending my existing mortgage to cover the costs for repairs and improvements.

Would this meet the criteria, I wonder?
 
If the mortgage is on that property I don't see any problem but I don't think you could add to the mortgage on your PPR - maybe check with revenue.
 
I consider the work you're planning to be a repair/replacement. As such it can be claimed in one go in you tax returns.
 
To the best of my knowledge, as far as tax offset is concerned, the property where the loan is secured does not have to be the rental property; the question is what was the loan used for.
 
The position is as follows:

- Interest on borrowings used to fund the installation of the new bathroom would be fully deductible against rental income

- The cost of the new bathroom would be deductible for CGT purposes when selling the property
 
Hi Sarenco,

I’d look at what’s actually happening to be honest.

If I’m replacing the sink, loo, bath plus shower and retiling etc, I’d apply enhancement/CGT treatment.

But, I guess repairs are repairs.

It’s really just about looking at what’s happening and the ordinary meaning of the words.

Gordon
 
Thanks Gordon.

The works/upgrades to the existing bathroom as described by the OP don't strike me as repairs - they very much look like enhancements to me.
 
Thanks for all your comments!

The thing is the existing bathroom needs to be upgraded. There is a build-up of condensation on the walls and ceiling causing damp patches, water is running down the side of the bath into the living room below. To do the work, either the existing bath needs to be taken out and the wall tanked around it and the bath replaced and the wall tiles replaced or I have a new shower unit installed, which might be cheaper in the long run. My thinking is if I get a new shower unit, I will also need new wash basin and loo, otherwise the color won't match, the bath is cream. Floor tiles will need to be replaced if I am changing the loo and wash basin. The exterior wall needs to be warm boarded to prevent damp, which means it will need to be re-tiled.

If I can't claim for the whole lot in one go, can I claim for repairs this year and over 8 years for the rest?

Or is it the case that the upgrade can be deducted only for capital gains purposes if the property/my home is being sold?
 
Thanks Gordon.

The works/upgrades to the existing bathroom as described by the OP don't strike me as repairs - they very much look like enhancements to me.
I disagree. And my accountant wouldn’t agree with you either. It’s a fact of rentals that every so often you have to do repairs/replacement. I spent nearly 6k on three existing shower rooms last tax year and my accountant said it’s fully deductible.

Things wear out, that’s tiling, shower basins, toilets, sinks.

Even double glazed. Which once upon a time revenue considered enhancement. But if your old wooden window is rotten, you have to replace it with double glazing.
 
I’m going to chime in and land myself into the middle ground here.

On any reasonable consideration, where wear & tear has resulted in disrepair or dilapidation, at least part of the cost is indeed a repair. And as Bronte says, it could be a fair few quid.

But likewise, if the spec has gone from bog standard (pun intended!) to highly specced, then there may be an element of enhancement.

It’s all about the facts of a particular case really.

I think it’d be entirely reasonable in the OP’s case, to claim the works on the pre-existing bathroom as repairs deductible against rental income. The cost of the new loo is enhancement expenditure, and relevant only to CGT.
 
But is it not subject to wear and tear so therefor can be claimed in Capital Allowances over 8 years ?

Unlikely. The only Capital Allowances allowable in a rental property are in respect of furniture & fittings. I doubt a meaningful proportion of the cost of a new bathroom could be disaggregated and identified as relating to furniture / fittings. I suppose you could argue that the toilet and the sink are only fittings and could be removed and used elsewhere without damaging themselves or the property (which is the distinction between a fitting and a fixture as I understand it). But really, would you go there...! :D
 
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