Useful Life Of Carpet In A Rental Unit

Irs tax publication 527 page 9 table 2 1.

Useful life of carpet in a rental unit.

If the carpet has been in place for 5 years or longer it s the landlord s responsibility to replace it since that is the length of the carpet s useful life. Most repair costs that are results of the tenant destructive actions are fully tax deductible in the year incurred. Learn more on carpet damage here. Thus if the class life of carpet e g is more than 4 but less than 10 years the landlord depreciates carpet over 5 years because it is 5 year property.

The carpeting in your rental unit is 5 years old. Like appliance depreciation carpets are normally depreciated over 5 years. Rental grade carpeting usually has a useful life of five years according to diana valin cpm owner broker of the rental xperts in encinitas ca. Useful life for carpet a landlord must expect a certain time period where paint and carpet have a useful life.

But what is class life. Normal wear what it includes. Using the alternative depreciation system carpets have a usable life of 9 years. This applies however only to carpets that are tacked down.

The life expectancy of carpeting in a rental unit is 10 years. The carpeting cannot be. Also normal wear and tear to carpets drapes and other furnishings cannot be charged against a tenant s security deposit normal wear and tear includes simple wearing down of carpet and drapes because of normal use or aging and includes moderate dirt or spotting. Assume the following facts.

Even if no damage to the rental property carpet has occurred age and normal wear. Suppose a tenant has damaged beyond repair an 8 old carpet that had a life expectancy of ten years and that a replacement carpet of similar quality would cost 1 000. Paint may have a useful life of 2 3 years depending on who you ask. If the carpet has light sun damage or is showing signs of wear that is normal wear and tear and the landlord cannot blame the tenant.

The tenant damaged the carpeting by spilling kool aid and cooking oil throughout and in the spots where there are not. Table 2 1 on page 9 of the publication shows allowable depreciation of property used in rental activities. If the carpet is glued down perhaps in a basement then it becomes attached to the property and must be depreciated over 27 5 years. Using the general depreciation system carpets have a usable life of 5 years.

I definitions and special rules for purposes of this section 1 class life.