Starting Your Business/Keeping Records
What are Business Expenses
Repairs & Maintenance

The cost of repairing or improving property used in your trade orbusiness is either a deductible or capital expense. You can deduct expenses to keep yourproperty in a normal efficient operating condition. But you must capitalize expenses thatadd to the value of your property or significantly increase its life. Although you cannotdeduct capital expenditures as current expenses, you can usually deduct them over a periodof time as depreciation.

TIP.  The cost of repairs includes the costs of labor, supplies, andcertain other items. You cannot deduct the value of your own labor.

Examples of repairs include the following.

• Patching and repairing floors.
• Repainting the inside and outside of a building.
• Repairing roofs and gutters.
• Mending leaks.

You cannot deduct the cost of repairs that you added to the costof goods sold as a separate business expense.

Important References:

Publication 535                  Business Expenses
Form 1040 Schedule C     Profit or Loss from Business