Here's A Tax Change I'd Like To See: Make All Home Improvents Tax Deductible.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

Right now, all my friends or acquaintances I have that are in the construction industry are hurting severely and most about to lose their homes or already have. On of my friends is hurting so much he's going to divorce his wife just to spare her the credit damage. When it comes to the bad economy, you can bet your ass that a significant group that is affected by it greater than others is those who rely on construction/home improvement for a living. Fact is, so many people aren't spending money on things like non-emergency home repair these days. New roof? Nah. New carpet? No need. Repaint? Fuck it, the old paint is good enough.

But maybe if there was a tax deduction for such repairs/maintenance, or some sort of significant credit, some would be a bit more willing to have some of these things done.

My heart goes out to all those in the home repair field right now. They're really hurtin.

[slackmaster]

1. I'd love to be able to deduct all the time I've spend remodeling my house

I've probably put in a couple thousand hours doing wiring, drywall work, and painting.

[TwilightGardener]

12. Yep--my husband did it all himself--we never could have afforded to

pay people to come and put in new windows for us, or kitchen cabinets and counters, or rebuild the porch and staircase, or plumbing, or wiring. That would have amounted to many thousands in labor, and we're nowhere near finished. I would love the luxury of hiring someone, though that will never happen as long as we're poor and my husband is able-bodied, LOL. But since we're not supporting an "industry" of repair and maintenance (beyond Menard's/Home Depot for materials), the OP's tax credit would be wasted on us.

[tabbycat31]

46. the tax code already favors homeowners

by making mortgage interest and property taxes deductable along with improvements that add to the value of a home (when the home is sold).

How about a renters credit instead. I'll be lucky if I'm able to own a home by the time I am 40.

[ixion]

2. a home is an investment, like a business, in a manner of speaking. As such

a home should be entitle to all the deductions a business gets to make, IMO, whether that home is rented or owned.

[Rockholm]

3. Totally.

[arcadian]

4. That sounds like a bail out for the very people who put us in this mess.

The people who created the housing bubble. Real estate speculators/agents and building contractors. No thanks.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

7. Ummmmmm, Could You Be Any More Misguided?

Roofers didn't get us into this mess. House painters didn't get us into this mess. Carpenters didn't get us into this mess. Kitchen refinishers didn't get us into this mess.

You couldn't possibly have missed the mark more.

[Donnachaidh]

15. the house flippers who hired those contractors did.

So the craftsmen aren't to blame.

[arcadian]

24. Yeah, you're so altruistic, I'm sure all you care for is the little guy.

There were so many houses going up, contractors were hiring anybody with an opposable thumb who could swing a hammer. In a lot of cases those were people who were in this country illegally. Congratulations OMC, you are proposing a bail out for illegal immigrants. This is the most ill conceived original post I have EVER read on DU. In all of DU history! :rofl:



OMC's response: ROFLMAO!

Get a new shtick, you are too predictable and you are becoming a caricature of yourself.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

26. Just When I Thought You Couldn't Miss The Mark Any Further,

there you go proving yet again how far away you can get...

[arcadian]

33. Have you ever seen those word magnets people put up on their refrigerators?

Where people create little poems and sentences from the random magnets provided? Most of the time the magnets just sit there, jumbled up, in a mess, but somebody while grabbing for the orange juice late one night has created a little sentence fragment while they chugged OJ from the carton, something like, "I like my bicycle". That is how I imagine your thought processes work and this OP proves it.

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[flvegan]

5. Not a terrible idea. But only if it's an improvement to an existing condition.

It can't add significant value, such as an addition or putting in a pool. One would be double-dipping in that they'd get a tax credit AND get additional value on the home's value.

[Donnachaidh]

10. and it can't be done in order to *flip* the property

Part of the reason why we are where we are now is because of all the eedjits looking to make a fast buck by buying properties, slapping on a coat of paint, and then popping it on the market for 30% higher. This sort of BS should NOT be fired up, or given the opportunity to fire up again.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

13. I Disagree.

I see no problem with having both.

Not including projects like that would stifle a lot of the work the proposal was to stimulate.

Now granted, it's not going to happen anyway, but just speaking in a rhetorical sense I see nothing wrong with getting a tax break for the improvement while also being able to someday sell your house for more.

[Donnachaidh]

16. so you basically have no problem with house flipping?

:eyes:

[jpak]

19. I have a problem with it

and so should everyone else

:hi:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

25. So You Basically Have No Problem With People Raping Small Children?

God strawmen are stupid.

[Donnachaidh]

34. what an absolutely DIM argument

But hey, what other good ideas have you got? Putting small children to work on cleaning out meatgrinders? After all, those kids have to eat too, right?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

35. You're Projecting.

[conscious evolution]

39. I don't think OMC is supporting house flipping.

Maybe I am reading it wrong but he looks like he is supporting improvements that,while they probably do increase value,their main purpose is for the homeowners use.Think along the lines of updating kitchens or enlarging bathrooms.Another area to consider is upgrades or additions of solar or other alternative energy sources.Or replacing older inefficient heat/air and water heaters.Things like this will add value but if they are not done with the specific intent of adding to the value but for the homeowners use or for 'greening' a house they should be deductible.

Flippers,on the other hand,should get no tax breaks.In fact taxation should be set up to discourage flipping,imo.Flipping causes to many problems for it to be allowed.(I might consider breaks for greening a house.)

But how to tell the difference between the two. It's easy.If you dont live in the house and have no intention of living in or renting the house then you are a flipper.Set tax law up so that you must be getting a homestead/primary residence exemption as a prerequisite for claiming the deductions.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

40. Yup.

It would be quite easy to add stipulations to the proposal, and they would be no brainers.

Furthermore, under current tax law, aren't those home improvements already deductible if it's considered part of fixing up the house for sale and it is sold within 90 days of the repairs?

[WHAT]

44. What about disability access...

?

It seems that with an aging population there would be more need for this type of home improvement. Maybe a free coupon system for people on fixed income or disability who are aging into accessibility issues in their lives. It would give construction people work, allow people to live at home more easily, cut-down on the predators that take advantage of this demographic, and generally enhance relationships and community because of the spill-over effect. This could apply to basics like roofing, furnaces, electrical box repairs, etc. for old people in old houses.

????????

[conscious evolution]

45. Thats not a bad idea.

Some kind of protection system has to be in place,though.A lot of older people got ripped off by unscrupulous contractors in Atlanta.

[WHAT]

48. That's why I was thinking a coupon system...

coupon to recipient to validate need for work wrt safety or quality of life issues then the coupon would be redeemed by worker after quality and appropriateness of work is verified. An argument might arise that it would bloat bureaucracy but lack of oversight can be extremely more expensive. Besides, I don't see bureaucracy as necessarily a bad thing because many people are invested in doing a good job and problems arise from mixed signals or bad examples from the top. The latter is why I think of corruption as cancer.

thanks for your reply, it is an interesting idea to me...

[niceypoo]

6. Forgive student loans

[jemsan]

8. AMEN!

[Johonny]

11. I agree

and I don't even have any. The industry is corrupt.

[Johonny]

9. Perhaps a deduction for a few years atm

but as a permanent change this doesn't make sense. The reward for the owners is suppose to be the increased equity of their investment. Redoing your home is not a necessary burden and thus should not create a deduction.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

14. This Isn't About The Owners. It's About The Workers.

We need something to give more people the incentive to seek out this kind of work.

But yes, it should be sunsetted once the economy is back on track.

[jpak]

17. Only if they are energy related - insulation, Energy Star windows, solar energy devices.

n/t

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

27. That Is Completely Illogical To The Proposal.

[jpak]

41. no it is not

:evilgrin:

[Tracer]

18. Maybe they'd be hurtin' less if they didn't charge so much.

I had some rot around the base of my back door.

Got three estimates to fix it and the lowest was $1,200.

I fixed it myself for $100 and a bit of labor.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

28. Most Of Them Charge What Is Necessary To Make A Living.

Most of them are fair, though lord knows the industry has it's share of rip-offs.

[Auggie]

20. How about bigger deductions for Green improvements?

Make tankless water heating and solar more competitive to conventional methods. You help build a new industry in the process.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

29. Separate Topic.

Didn't say this is the only proposal that should be considered.

[ogneopasno]

21. Tell me more -- are you talking a deduction based on a formula and applied to annual income taxes

every year, or do you mean a deduction from property taxes?

[ogneopasno]

43. Or, alternately, not paying sales tax on the supplies/labor?

I'm hoping you don't have me on ignore, which is possible -- I'm interested in this suggestion.

[Fire1]

22. That would be nice.

[Rabrrrrrr]

23. Of course - stick it to the poor! Yeah, good idea.

:eyes:

Why not just say that anyone who makes more than $50,000 doesn't have to pay taxes, and anyone under $50,000 has to give the government half what they make.

[Greyhound]

30. That's about what we already have, except the non-paying level is higher.

Consider the source.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

32. Consider The Source.

Closed minded zealots knee jerking in response. Surprise surprise. :hi:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

31. Could You Be Any More Closed Minded?

First of all, those in the construction industry are largely becoming 'the poor'.

Second of all, proposing this doesn't mean that all other considerations for others as it relates to assistance should no longer be considered and thrown away instead.

Never ceases to amaze me how limited in thought and creativity some are...

[Rabrrrrrr]

37. Yes, of course I could be more closed minded. I have lots of room to go in that direction.

Giving people deductions for fixing things that only the more-affluent can afford is a closed minded position.

It's not really much different - in principle - from offering a tax deduction for buying a Hummer.

Like the child deduction punishes the childless, a credit for home repair punishes renters.

[tammywammy]

36. I think that's a good idea

It would help me be able to fix up my old house and put someone to work at the same time.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

38. Exactly.

:thumbsup:

[EFerrari]

42. Essential repairs for your primary residence -- you bet!

Leaving repairs undone because you can't afford them can be dangerous or unhealthy.

[B2G]

47. I love this idea

Not to mention the boost it would give to the economy, both in manufacturing and retail.

I like it alot!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

49. Thanks!