Property costs that maintain or increase the value of the property

1. renovation and reconstruction of a single-family house

The A family lives in a two-storey detached house built in 1970, which they own. The house will be partially rebuilt in 2018. The rebuilding will only affect the ground floor, where the entrance, kitchen, toilet, a small room, dining room and living room are located. The family had parts of the outer wall of the living room broken through to create access to the newly built conservatory. The living room is separated from the conservatory by a glass front including access door. The inner wall separating the small room from the kitchen allows the family to remove it. The kitchen equipment, which is getting on in years, also has them removed. The newly gained space becomes an open kitchen with granite cover and a steamer. The large kitchen will now have a stone slab floor. In the living room a parquet floor is laid instead of the old fitted carpet. The WC is completely new: the washbasin and the WC are replaced. Additionally a shower will be installed. All windows are replaced by insulation windows. The heating bodies, water connections and electrical installations had to be partially relocated.

The following maintenance costs will be claimed in the 2018 tax return:

Question:

How should the costs be divided between value-preserving maintenance, energy-saving measures and investment costs?

2. standard deduction

N is the beneficiary for life of a detached house with garden, which he rents to X AG. X AG leaves the house to its manager F, who moved to Switzerland from abroad with his family due to his employment with X AG, for residential purposes. The occupancy of the house is part of the employment agreement with F.

N declares rental income of CHF 78,000 in his 2018 tax return and claims a flat-rate deduction of CHF 7,800 for the single-family home.

Question:

Can N be granted the flat-rate deduction in this constellation?

3. new windows after hailstorm

The couple B has three apartments in condominium ownership. The fourth apartment in the same building belongs to the son. After a hailstorm in July 2011, the couple replaced the windows of all four apartments. The invoice for CHF 40,000 was paid in 2011. In May 2013, the cantonal building insurance took over the amount of CHF 8,000, and the son reimbursed his parents the amount of CHF 10,000 for the share of costs attributable to him after deduction of the insurance benefit. With the 2013 tax return, the couple deducted the remaining amount of CHF 22,000.

Question:

In which tax year can the couple claim the deduction?

4. replacement of a slope protection

In 2016, the C couple had the garden of their detached house extensively redesigned. It had a large embankment planted with cotoneaster, shrubs and trees terraced on the south side of the property. For this purpose retaining walls were built. In addition, a new fountain was built on one of the terraces.

The couple claimed Fr. 90,000 for the environmental work as maintenance costs. The additional costs of CHF 15,000 for the well were excluded in the tax return itself as value-adding. The reason for the withdrawal was that the retaining wall and the terracing of the slope served to secure the slope. The cotoneasters with their strong root formation would have secured the slope until now. However, the slope had become unstable over the years, which is why a replacement was necessary. Since the replanting of cotoneaster is prohibited, as it is a host plant of fire blight, slope protection with retaining walls was offered for lack of alternatives. Moreover, the terracing had not created any added value. This was shown in particular by the fact that the official tax value of the property had not been increased after the restructuring. The assessment authority refused the deduction and only granted a lump-sum deduction. The reason given was that if a house or parts thereof were demolished during renovation, no maintenance costs could be claimed for the demolished parts even if there was a need for maintenance, since the construction of a replacement object could not, even in purely conceptual terms, constitute maintenance.

Question:

How do you assess the case?

5. economical new construction

In 2010, M bought a house for CHF 110,000 that was in poor condition and had not been lived in for six years. M had extensive renovation and conversion work carried out from 2009 onwards; the costs amounted to CHF 300,000 at the end of 2011, although the work had not yet been completed at that time. The renovation and conversion work included the following measures: In the ground floor and partly in the basement all interior walls were broken out. The interior including flooring and installations such as toilet, bathroom, kitchen, heating, were completely new. Furthermore, the ceiling above the basement was re-concreted, the roof including the chimney was completely renovated and an attached crest was demolished. The walls were also insulated and all windows and doors were replaced. Only the basic construction of the roof and the outer walls have been left in their original condition.
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For the tax year 2009, M claimed maintenance costs of CHF 90,000.

Question:

How are the expenses deducted to be assessed?

6. installation of a storage battery

W has already installed a photovoltaic system at his holiday chalet, which is very remote and is not connected to the electricity grid, the costs of which he was able to fully deduct from his taxes. Now he had a battery installed to supplement the photovoltaic system, which stores the electricity produced. For this he will claim CHF 20,000 in his tax return 2016. He justifies the deduction with the fact that the battery is a necessary addition to the photovoltaic system. The chalet is not connected to the electricity grid. The battery is necessary to guarantee the power supply of the chalet even if the photovoltaic system produces too little or no electricity.

Question:

How is the case to be assessed?

7. installation of a photovoltaic system in a new building

In November 2016, the T couple moved into a newly built detached house. In 2018, it had a photovoltaic system installed on the roof of the house for CHF 50,000, which went into operation at the end of 2018. In the 2018 tax return, the couple claims the expenses for the photovoltaic system as maintenance costs.

Question:

How is the case to be assessed?

8. transfer of costs for energy saving and environmental protection measures

M is self-employed and E is employed. The two are married and live in a single-family house that they own. In their 2020 tax return, they declare income from self-employment of CHF - 5'000 for M and CHF 140'000 for E. The imputed rental value of the house is CHF 18'000. In 2020, they had their house renovated to improve its energy efficiency, which cost CHF 200'000. They also had the interior walls repainted, which cost Fr. 8,000.

The tax return 2020 is as follows:

In 2021, M will earn an income from self-employment of CHF 7,000, while E will have an income from employment of CHF 140,000. There will be no property costs in 2012.

The 2021 tax return is as follows: