House maintenance tax deductions

Finance, Taxes, Banking, Insurance and Retirement
1
our tax accountant has asked us to provide all house maintenance costs to see if they are tax deductible.

we know that items such as garden maintenance, heating system maintenance, etc are not valid as they are considered "frais de vie" but on the other hand the maintenance of the water softener could qualify.

Q: for the homeowners, what other yearly (or 1-off) maintenance expenses are you submitting for tax deductions?

Asking to make sure i don't forget something "obvious"

2
I own an apartment in a development of 3 "Eigentumswohnungen" (condos). I get an annual statement from the Treuhand & Verwaltungs company we use to manage the buildings.

Because it says at the bottom -"Diesen Beleg können Sie der Steuererklärung belegen" - I pop it into the envelope that I send to my accountant every year.

3
if you didnt do any large things, mostly the pauschale is larger than the sum of all small things.

you can deduct the Verwaltungskosten (if you have a third party doing it), the Gebaeudeversicherung etc--> if you share all these costs you will only be allowed to deduct your %.

4
Send your accountant all the documents/receipts you have, let him decide. You pay them for this service.

5
correct I believe these are the PPE maintenance costs. i was thinking more of individual costs. in my example the water softener is hooked up to my main water line so i pay for it (not the "condo") and this apparently can be deducted

6
but i need to find them... was hoping to start from a list rather than hunt for documents - asking for the collective wisdom/experience of EF

and of course they charge by the hour so if i provide documents that are "valid" will be easier

7

Maybe Vaud has different rules, but I send in my heating maintenance invoices; the boiler being serviced and also the chimney sweep’s.

8
good to know, our accountant specifically said those are living costs. i will send them anyway

appreciate the comment !

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10
Honestly for the first go around, I'd just get a tax advisor to do it or speak to the tax office. We chose the regional firm that provide an annual tax change update to the local branch of the Homeowners association, so absolutely not the cheapest and it cost about CHF 1,000, but with spending about CHF 450k in total on a complete renovation, we wanted to make sure we got it right regarding what could be claimed and what was classed as maintenance/repairs and what was value-adding. They were well worth the fee. In hindsight it may have made sense to push anything that was judgement based towards value-improving, as the marginal rate on capital gains is higher than the marginal rate on income tax in SZ, but hey ho.

Nevertheless, based partly on our experience and a general understanding of the rules...

- boiler repair (parts and installation) YES

- bank transfer and postage fees relating to deposit and notary fees - NO

- notary fees and taxes - NO

- lawyer fees relating to the purchase - NO

- sundry decorating items - like paint, or screws - YES

- tools used for DIY repairs and renovations - NO

- Replacing the chimney - YES

- Delivery charges for materials used for renovation - PARTLY - renovation suggests improvements i.e. value adding. Only the part relating to like for like replacement deductible now

- Life insurance required by the mortgage provider - Probably as part of your overall insurance tax deduction

- Building insurance, - NO

- civil responsibility insurance - NO

- Chimney inspection, gas appliance inspection, electrical installation inspection UNSURE

- electrical appliances (I understand a washing machine replacement is deductible) - YES if like for like replacement, partly if upgrades, value adding if new e.g. you didn't have a steamer before

- coproperty owner monthly charges to the maintenance fund - NO this is actually an asset until spent

11
In the canton of Vaud, you have specific items for insurance related to the property (household, RC, ECA), communal rubbish tax, impôt foncier, all of which are deductible. On top of that I add all maintenance I have carried out in the house (heating maintenance, chimney sweep), repairs to shutters for example. On top of that we're on a communal plot and the costs related to the plot are included (provided by the administrator). This latter is similar to what you would get in a block of flats, but the amounts are lower as we have rather less in common management.

The "forfait" is in most years fairly similar to what this all adds up to, so up to you to decide which to use.

12
these are both deductable.

13
Some are and some aren't you would really need an advisor to help you here !

Be advised though, if you try to deduct too much, they may go through your tax return very very carefully, which could in turn lead to other problems.

Like for like are usually deductible, but if you take a cheap kitchen out and replace it with top of the line, this is not considered renovation but improvement and not deductible

14
The official document from the Administration Fiscal Cantonal (GE tax authorities) can be found here (see “Annexe” at bottom of page). It lists clearly what you can and cannot deduct and is well organized by room and expense type. Note that this version from 2021/2022 is currently still the latest; the previous version was issued 2011 as I recall.

Each canton will have their own version of this.

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