Personal taxation · Luxembourg
Rental property: repairs or improvements in Luxembourg?
Work on a rented property may be maintenance or an investment. How it is paid does not decide its treatment. You need to examine its effect on the building and document a breakdown where the invoice combines work of different kinds.
Financial Services Luxembourg · Licensed accountant · Head of the firm: Mickaël LOC. Editorial update: .
Read the nature of the work
The Luxembourg Inland Revenue (ACD) distinguishes in particular changes of nature, essential increases in substance or considerable improvements on the previous condition, which may count as an investment. A maintenance expense aims to restore or keep the property in good condition, subject to the conditions.
The amount alone is not a sufficient general rule. Any administrative simplifications and conditions for spreading the expense must be checked separately for the case at hand.
A mixed invoice must be explained
Ask for a description and a breakdown of the items. A single line reading "complete renovation" can prevent you from properly justifying the maintenance share and the investment share.
Investment expenses are not treated as simple costs that are immediately deductible: they may form part of the depreciable base under the applicable regime. The land and the other components must remain separate.
Contrasting fictitious examples
Restoring existing equipment after ordinary wear and tear is not the same operation as substantially transforming the building. The facts, the condition before the work and the result achieved must be described.
A renovation between two tenancies should not be rejected solely because no rent is received during the work. The link with earning or preserving rental income still has to be shown.
Documents
- Detailed quotes, invoices and proof of payment.
- Before and after photos or descriptions where relevant.
- Rental periods, use and ownership share.
- Treatment chosen in the depreciation schedule or the expenses, without duplication.
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Official sources and scope
The rules apply to the year and profile concerned. Examples flagged as fictitious explain a method; they are not an individual validation. The documents and options of your file are covered by a separate engagement.