From: bhos13@hotmail.com (bhos13)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Billing homeowner's hours during renovation for tax deduction
Date: 13 Jan 2004 21:12:45 -0800

I've heard of people keeping track of their remodeling hours for
capital gains purposes, but not sure what the process is there.  I
believe the hours act as a kind of deductible on the capital gains tax
somehow...


> I recently purchased a home that is going to take months to renovate, and I
> will be contributing a large number of hours to the effort in addition to
> hiring several contractors. I was advised that I should keep track of my
> hours for tax purposes, but I have trouble imagining that I could get a tax
> deduction from billing myself for my hours. If anything, it seems like my
> labor is an investment in the value of the house, and I'll be taxed on the
> increased value of the house (when it's appraised for tax purposes) but not
> compensated except for things that are all 'loss,' such as interest on my
> mortgage. I am wrong, that is, can a homeowner bill her/his own hours as an
> expenditure?