Can You Write Off Lawn Care on Your Taxes?
Understand the distinction between personal and business expenses to see if your lawn care costs can qualify as a legitimate tax deduction.
Many homeowners question if property maintenance costs can lower their tax bill. While the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) categorizes most home upkeep as a personal expense without a tax benefit, specific circumstances can shift this classification. Understanding when an expense transitions from personal to business-related is key for tax compliance and clarifying the conditions under which lawn care may qualify as a write-off.
The General Rule for Personal Residences
For most homeowners, the cost of lawn care is a nondeductible personal expense. The IRS views the upkeep of a primary or secondary home used solely for personal living as a cost of personal choice and enjoyment. These expenses are in the same category as other common home maintenance tasks, such as interior painting or minor repairs, none of which qualify for a tax deduction. If your property serves exclusively as a personal residence, funds spent on mowing, fertilizing, or general landscaping cannot be used to reduce your taxable income.
Deducting Lawn Care for a Home Office
An exception to the general rule exists for taxpayers who operate a business from their home. If you qualify for the home office deduction, a portion of your lawn care expenses may become deductible. To qualify, you must meet the “exclusive and regular use” test, meaning a specific area of your home is used solely for your trade or business on a consistent basis. This space must also be your principal place of business.
Lawn care is classified by the IRS as an “indirect” expense, as it benefits the entire property, not just the business portion. Unlike a “direct” expense, such as painting only the office, you cannot deduct the full cost. The deductible amount is determined by the percentage of your home used for business, calculated using the square footage of the office relative to the home’s total square footage.
For example, consider a 2,000-square-foot home with a 200-square-foot home office. The business-use percentage is 10%. If total lawn care costs for the year were $1,500, the taxpayer could deduct $150. This deduction is reported on Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home, which is filed with Schedule C.
Deducting Lawn Care for Rental Properties
The tax treatment of lawn care for rental properties is different from that for personal residences. When a property’s primary purpose is to generate rental income, its maintenance expenses are considered business costs. Lawn care is an ordinary and necessary expense for managing a rental business, making it fully deductible against your rental income.
An “ordinary” expense is one that is common and accepted in the rental industry, while a “necessary” expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your business. Maintaining a tidy lawn helps attract and retain tenants and preserve property value. These costs, which can include mowing, weeding, and fertilizing, are reported on Schedule E (Form 1040), Supplemental Income and Loss.
It is important to differentiate between routine maintenance and capital improvements. While regular lawn care is expensed in the year it is paid, a landscaping project that adds substantial value to the property, such as installing a new sprinkler system, would need to be capitalized and depreciated over several years.
Deducting Lawn Care for Business Properties
For properties used entirely for business purposes and separate from a personal residence, the rules for deducting lawn care are direct. This applies to commercial locations such as a retail storefront, a standalone office building, or an industrial workshop. In these situations, the property is not subject to the mixed-use complexities of a home office or a residential rental.
Lawn care is treated as a standard grounds maintenance expense, similar to janitorial services or building repairs. The full cost of these services is 100% deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense. There is no need to allocate costs between personal and business use because no personal use exists.
These expenses are reported on the appropriate business tax schedule, which depends on the structure of the business entity. A sole proprietor or a single-member LLC would report lawn care expenses on Schedule C (Form 1040). Other business structures, such as partnerships or corporations, would report these costs on their respective tax forms, like Form 1065 or Form 1120.
Required Documentation and Recordkeeping
To claim a deduction for lawn care, whether for a home office, rental property, or commercial location, taxpayers must maintain detailed records. The responsibility to substantiate any claimed expense rests with the taxpayer. In the event of an IRS audit, clear documentation is necessary to prove that the expenses were paid and that they qualify under tax law.
Your records should include detailed invoices from any professional lawn care providers that specify the services performed, the dates of service, and the amounts charged. Proof of payment is also required, which can take the form of canceled checks, bank account statements, or credit card statements showing the transactions. You must be able to show that a bill was paid.
For home office deductions, you must also keep the worksheet used to calculate the business-use percentage of your home. This involves documenting the total square footage of your home and the specific square footage of your office space. Without this calculation, the basis for your partial deduction of indirect expenses like lawn care is unsupported.