As the April 15 tax deadline approaches, I wanted to remind you that in many cases, the cost of home staging may be tax-deductible!
According to CPA/CFE Rob Unger of the accounting firm Judelson, Giordano & Siegel, P.C., “Home sellers can benefit from home staging, as the fees for staging services can be considered as advertising costs, according to IRS guidelines. Since a home stager prepares your house for potential homebuyers, the IRS considers the service as an advertising expense, as long as the home stager has been hired for the sole purpose of selling your home. The costs of staging are subtracted from the proceeds of the sale of the home and decrease the total realized profit. In summary, the IRS’s position is that Staging costs are a legitimate selling expense for both primary and secondary homes and are therefore tax deductible.
However, it is important to note that if a house is staged and then taken off the market, the staging expenses are not tax deductible.”
Barb Schwarz, ASPM®, IASHP® and The Creator of Home Staging®
One note: ALWAYS check with your own CPA or the IRS concerning all tax write-offs, tax information, and your own specific home staging expenses to verify whether they are tax-deductible. Your own unique situation may be different, and tax laws change.
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Are the suggestions made by the stager also tax deductible? For example, we implemented many of the changes you recommended, such as painting our block panelling that cost $2,600.
Hi Janet! I believe in many cases it is, but every home is different. Sometimes some repairs/update may be deductible, while others are not. And tax law has changed a lot in the past year, so the safest bet would be to keep all your receipts and give them to your accountant or ask a CPA for advice specific to your situation.