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The Daily Insight

Can you depreciate furniture in a rental?

Author

James Williams

Published Mar 29, 2026

You also can depreciate any appliances, carpeting or furniture that you replace during the time that you rent out your home. These items have a shorter life span, so you depreciate them over a five-year period. In most cases, homes depreciate on a 27.5-year schedule.

What is the difference between maintenance renovation & refurbishment?

The primary difference between the two, well — they often are used interchangeably, but renovation typically refers to restoring something to a good condition or state or repair. Refurbishment implies process of cleaning, equipping, or retrofitting. So those are the basic definitions of each.

Do rental furnishings qualify for bonus depreciation?

Bonus depreciation applies only to personal property (not the building) with a useful life of less than 20 years. Previously, personal property used in rental properties such as furniture, refrigerators, ranges, and other equipment used in living quarters were ineligible for the Section 179 deduction.

Can You claim depreciation on furniture in a rental property?

To be eligible to claim depreciation for furniture within a rental property, you must: directly incur the cost of the furniture. Find out more about legislation surrounding plant and equipment assets here .

How is the depreciation of a rental property determined?

Rental property depreciation is a process that real estate investors use to deduct the costs associated with purchasing and improving an investment property. Depreciation of rental property happens over the course of the property’s useful life as determined by the IRS’ depreciation method.

Can you depreciate a rental property in Australia?

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) allows you to depreciate rental property assets under two broad categories: 2) capital allowances (e.g. plant and equipment assets). Capital works assets are fixed to the rental property. Examples of capital works assets that are eligible tax-deductible depreciation expenses include:

Do you pay recapture tax when you sell a rental property?

When you sell your rental property, you typically have to pay a depreciation recapture tax if you sell the property for more than its depreciated value. The depreciation recapture tax is typically 20 percent plus the state income tax on the depreciation amount that you claimed.