Standard deductions
If, throughout the course of one year, your maintenance costs are little to none, you still have the possibility to deduct a standard amount that is, for most direct federal taxes, 10% (for properties 10 years-old or less) and 20% (for properties older than 10 years) of the rental value or of the gross return on rental income .
The deduction of cantonal and communal taxes could be even higher. For example, in the canton of Vaud, it is 20% regardless of the building's age.
Hypothetical scenario
Your rental value is CHF 20,000 and you have to carry out maitenance works for CHF 3,300 this year and for CHF 3,700 for the next year. If you proceed this way, you will only deduct a standard amount this year of CHF 4,000 (20% of the rental value in the canton of Vaud) and CHF 4,000 for the next year, thus a total deduction of CHF 8,000.
However, we recommend that you complete all of these works within a single year and then deduct the effective costs for a total of CHF 7,000. In the next year, you can also deduct the standard CHF 4,000. Thus, your total deduction will be CHF 11,000.
Articles on taxation:
- Marginal tax rate
- Transfer duties
- Rental value
- Tax on real estate gains
- Real estate gains
- Land tax
- Maintenance costs
- Limitations to debit interest deductions
- Annuity from the right to land occupancy
- Distribution of interest expense
- Life insurance financed by third party funds
- Deduction of construction loan interest