Tax Deductions: Repairs vs Improvements

[Chris Perez]

Hi All!

Earlier this year I purchased a 4-unit property, and I'm currently living in one of the units. Over the past several months, I've invested about $30k into the units. I'm having trouble determining what exactly constitutes as a "repair" and as an "improvement" for tax deduction purposes. Some of the "repairs" just happened to be "improvements," so how would that be deducted? (i.e. the bathroom had severe water damage that posed structural threats, so I gutted it and installed cement board and new tile.) This seems to be a very blurry line. If someone can help explain or point me to a resource that best explains the distinct difference it would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!