Depreciation schedule for doors and windows

I've looked through publication 946 and a number of other IRS advice, and I can't find anything clearly defining the depreciation schedule for doors and windows in residential rental property. A good case could be made for considering them part of the structure, but doors often are replaced within ten years.

Any ideas?

-- Arthur L. Rubin CRTP, Brea, CA

Reply to
Arthur Rubin
Loading thread data ...

I suspect you're confusing a GAAP notion of depreciation, which includes "useful life" with an income tax notion of depreciation, which uses the tax code to define dpreciation, which is sometimes, by coincidence, similar to useful life.

The example I use when teaching someone tax principles behind depreciable life.

Consider a taxpayer who owns a home with three identical bedrooms.

One is used as an office in the home and carries a depreciable life of

39 years.

A second is used as a personal bedroom, and carries no depeciable life.

And the third is rented out long term to a boarder, so carries a depreciable life of 27.5 years.

Three identical rooms, three different depreciable lives.

And if that's not of interest, consider that after 39 years the taxpayer dies and son inherits, choosing to move in and use the three rooms identical to parent's use. So we have greatly increased the depreciable lives of the rooms, not through increasing useful life but through action of the tax code.

Anyway, to answer OPs question, I vote for treating the windows and doors as structural features of the rental home and use 27.5 years.

But I think you need to drop the accounting notion of useful life.

Reply to
Arthur Kamlet

BeanSmart website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.