Historical building restoration not deductible
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal has recently judged that the garage, garden and fencing of a historical building is not considered part of the historical building. And so the related costs are not deductible.
The case was as follows: In 2005 and 2006 a couple undertook a large restoration of a historical building. The man deducted the costs of the restoration in his tax return to the sum of € 143,361. The tax inspector has allowed only € 71,695 of these costs to be deductible. This smaller sum includes the restoration of the property, placement of revetment along the waterway and 25% of the gardening costs because the garden was damaged as a result of the construction work. In dispute was whether the remainder of the costs for the refurbishment of the garden, the fence repair costs and the garage restoration costs were deductible.
Because the garage, garden and fencing were not listed in the monument register they do not qualify as historic buildings according to the Amsterdam Court of Appeal. The costs therefore are not deductible. In addition the Court judged that 25% of the refurbishment costs of the garden were deductible.