Hello,
I did try searching but couldn't find an exact answer.
I have a property in the Dandenong Ranges (Vic) that is currently being rented out on airbnb. As we are heading into winter and getting a lot of rain the current gravel driveway is deteriorating and getting muddy/slippery which is posing a slip risk for guests and causing mud to be bought into the house.
I want to get some new gravel put down to restore it back to its original state and remove the risk. I have read that filling in pot holes would be considered a repair (and can be fully tax deductible in the first year) but having the entire driveway down would have to be a capital improvement and deducted over 40 years?
The problem is, the driveway is essentially 50% pot holes and what gravel remains is mixed with dirt/mud so trying to fill each pot hole individually is far more expensive than just having a truck drop new gravel along the entire length.
Its a pretty long driveway so I reckon Ill need around 40m3 which is approx $4000.
Could this be claimed as a repair and deducted this financial year? Or is this a capital improvement? The gravel being put down is the same quality/type/colour as what was originally there, just the existing gravel is being wash/worn away by the increased traffic from guests.
Having said that, The driveway would have been originally done by the previous/original owner quite some time ago (before I bought the house), so technically putting new gravel down would be an "improvement" over the condition of the driveway when I first purchased the property.
Thing is, putting down gravel across the entire length is the cheapest way to bring the driveway back to a safe standard for guests. Trying to just repair the individual potholes would have a significantly higher labour cost. Apparently the truck driver can just open the tailgate and tilt the tray up slowly while driving along to dump/spread out the gravel, so basically a 3 minute job with no additional labour charge. If I was to pay a repairman to fix each individual pothole, the labour costs would be much more overall.
Cheers
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