Home Improvement Deductions for 2011, 2012

It is NOT a home repair. If your home was ransacked or exploded by pirates and tanks and then flooded by a major downpour, I'm sorry to report that the Home Improvement Deduction will do you no good. A home repair is fixing a problem, some kind of damage. An improvement is taking what’s already good, and making it better.

A home improvement, for example, could be some of these things:

• Adding a room or two
• Adding a garage
• Adding a pool
• Adding a woodshed
• Adding a ramp or other structures to improve the in-home mobility of disabled persons

You get the idea. A new splash of paint here and there is not going to cut it in the eyes of the IRS. Try to think along the lines of improving financial value and overall function.

Now the second complication to add to this simple matter of taxes is the fact that there are, in fact, both tax credits and deductions available for certain home improvements. Before calling the contractors over for the next few weeks, conduct a few minutes of research to figure out which one is going to work directly to your particular advantage.

When it comes to research, my first stop for anything tax-related is always TurboTax Online. You can browse their comprehensive articles for literally any tax subject. Their material is up to date, and guaranteed.

Plus, when the time comes to actually commence with the filing, they’ll automatically bring up all of the potential tax actions that you qualify for, based on what you tell them you’ve been up to for the last year with all of your money and real estate and college education, home improvements etc. Remember to do your research and check the guidelines for the Home Improvement Deduction or Home improvement Tax Credit BEFORE you call in the contractor; it will be a wise choice.