Deductability of 'home imporvements' if running business at home?

[Daniel Dietz]

Hello All,

As my day job I am a Kitchen and Bath Designer and Remodeler. I have a showroom in a commercial area and have long planned on making a small Design Studio in about 10 years as a 'semi retirement gig' in my back yard at home.

With the recent dip in sales and shelter in place orders I have been crunching numbers and got wondering if I should do this now. It could be beneficial both from a cost savings of not maintaining a commercial space and also operating with less employees and focusing on our most profitable projects. I have checked zoning, permits and the like already. I think it could also have HUGE family benefits of more interaction etc....

My question  comes down to how I could write things off if I went that route. My brief talk with my tax man made it sound like I could definitely deduct the expense of building the studio, some right away and some depreciated.

I am wondering if any of you have done similar for a office at home or the like and how you deducted things? Upon some reading, it look like it might be able to be depreciated in 7 years IF I make it a 'portable building' (think glorified yard shed)? I also wondered about specific landscaping to that would allow access to it from the road? It looks like that could run 5-10K? Or a privacy fence so that neighbors did not 'have to have customers looking into THEIR back yards' (other home based businesses in town have done that).?

Would I run into an issue that these things *might* be considered a 'personal improvement' also, even though there is NO way I would spend that if I were NOT going to run a business from home.

Any thoughts from those who have done this?

Thanks, Dan Dietz