It is the mechanism for recovering your cost in an income producing property and must be taken over the expected life of the property.
Depreciable life of laminate flooring in rental.
Additions or improvements to property.
Most flooring is considered to be permanently affixed.
You can begin to depreciate rental property when it is ready and available for rent.
These types of flooring include hardwood tile vinyl and glued down carpet.
Tile hardwood linoleum unlike carpeting are usually more or.
Depreciation is a capital expense.
How to depreciate carpets and other flooring.
Most other types of flooring are depreciated using the 27 5 year schedule only.
You will depreciate new flooring in a rental over 27 5 years if it is permanent or 5 years if it is easily removed such as carpeting.
Click on this irs link for more information.
Oh it gets worse.
For residential real estate carpet is depreciated over five years but put in new flooring wood tile or linoleum and it will take 27 5 years to completely depreciate the cost.
Since these floors are considered to be a part of your rental property they have the same useful life as your rental property.
Laminate floors are treated as affixed to the structure unit of property uop and therefore should be depreciated over a period of 27 5 years.
Carpeting can technically be pulled up and moved whereas laminate cannot.
Carpets are normally depreciated over 5 years this applies however only to carpets that are tacked down.
The real question is whether or not you can treat this as a repair.
See placed in service under when does depreciation begin and end in chapter 2.
However each item is depreciated in its own category.
That s because new floors are expected to last the life of the property.
Most other types of flooring i e.
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.
Most flooring is considered to be permanently affixed.
These types of flooring include hardwood tile vinyl and glued down carpet.
Here s the bad news.
Conversely if you replace the windows in a rental house you depreciate over 27 5 years because it s a residential property.
As such the irs requires you to depreciate them over a 27 5 year period.
The depreciation period for flooring depends on the type you install.
You treat the improvement as separate depreciable property.
Carpeting is depreciated over either five years or 27 5 years depending on how it is installed.
Because of this you must capitalize depreciate them.