Is a New Roof Tax Deductible in 2026?

What a New Roof Does and Does Not Do for Your Taxes

We get this question at the kitchen table a lot. An owner in Ontario signs for a full tear off and then asks if they can write it off in April. The answer is no, not on the home you live in.

One roofing company post from October 6, 2026 ranks high for this question. It says a new roof is not automatically deductible, then never names one IRS form, credit or dollar limit. Another page is titled for 2023 and still tells readers the energy credit runs through 2032. That is no longer true.

The plain version comes from the IRS pages themselves. A roof on your own home is a capital improvement. Publication 523 lists "New roof" right in its chart of improvements, next to new siding. Improvements are not deducted the year you pay for them. They are added to your basis, which is what you paid for the home plus what you put into it.

That sounds like a consolation prize. For a lot of owners it is. For some it matters a great deal, and the rest of this page shows who.

When the Roof Money Comes Back at Sale Time

When you sell, your gain is the sale price minus your basis. A higher basis means a smaller gain. Your roof replacement receipt is part of that math.

But most homeowners never pay tax on that gain anyway. Per Publication 523, you may exclude the first $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly. To qualify you must have owned the home and lived in it for at least 24 months out of the last 5 years.

Take round numbers, not anyone's real home. A married couple bought in Ontario years ago for $200,000. They sell for $800,000. Their gain is $600,000, which is $100,000 over the $500,000 limit. A $25,000 roof they kept the receipt for cuts the taxable part to $75,000. Lose the receipt and the IRS taxes the full $100,000.

That is why this matters more in the Inland Empire than in a lot of the country. Owners who bought here decades ago can be sitting on big gains. Long time owners, single owners and anyone who turned the home into a rental should keep every roof invoice, permit and final inspection card.

The Energy Credits Ended, and Roofing Was Never on the List

Many roofing pages get this wrong. They still say an ENERGY STAR metal roof or reflective shingles can earn a federal credit.

Look at what the IRS says today. The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, Section 25C, paid 30% of qualified costs up to $1,200 a year for things like insulation, air sealing, windows and doors. The IRS says it covers property placed in service from January 1, 2023 up to December 31, 2025. Roofing materials are not on its list at all.

No ENERGY STAR roof label is left to chase, either. The ENERGY STAR program for roofing products officially ended on June 1, 2022, per the Cool Roof Rating Council. In California the label that counts now is the CRRC rating, and that is for the state cool roof rule, not for a tax break.

Solar was the one roof related credit with real money in it. The Residential Clean Energy Credit paid 30% for solar, and the IRS says solar shingles and solar tiles counted because they make power. It also says traditional parts that mainly serve as a roof, like trusses and regular shingles under the panels, generally did not. And the IRS now says the credit is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025.

If your roof and solar went in before the end of 2025, talk to your tax preparer about Form 5695 for that year. If the job is in 2026, plan it as if no federal credit exists.

Rentals, Home Offices and Storm Damage

Three cases exist where a roof does lower a tax bill, just not all at once.

Rental homes. Publication 527 lists a new roof as an improvement you must capitalize on a rental. It is depreciated over the same period as the house, which is 27.5 years for residential rental property. Repairs that keep the place running are generally deductible the year you pay them. A patch on a leak is usually a repair. A full reroof is not. Our roof repair page covers what a repair job looks like.

A home office. If you are self employed and use part of your home only for business, Publication 587 says to multiply the cost of an improvement like a new roof by your business use percentage and depreciate that part. A home that is 10% office means 10% of the roof is depreciated. The same publication's flowchart says an employee using a home office gets no deduction.

Storm or disaster damage. Since tax year 2018, personal casualty losses are generally deductible only when the loss comes from a federally declared disaster, per IRS Topic 515. You subtract $100 per event, then 10% of your adjusted gross income. Anything insurance pays is taken out first, and you have to file the insurance claim to deduct a covered loss. For a Santa Ana wind blow off with no federal declaration, the deduction is usually zero. Your homeowners policy is the real help there.

Will a New Roof Raise Your California Property Tax?

This is the tax question we hear more than the IRS one, and the news is better.

Under Prop 13, your assessed value goes up when the home changes owners or when new construction happens. Normal repair and maintenance is not new construction. The Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee's April 6, 2026 analysis of AB 1971 says a new roof that replaces a deteriorated one generally counts as a non assessable repair. It quotes the Board of Equalization's Assessors' Handbook as treating even a new shake roof over old composition shingles as normal maintenance.

A catch applies. The same analysis says that if the roof is part of a bigger set of upgrades that greatly improves the home, the roof and the rest may be assessed together. The Stanislaus County Assessor says the same thing. Re-roofing done alone is maintenance. Done with a lot of other work at once, it may count as a rehabilitation.

The Orange County Assessor's guide on taxable and non taxable work lists replacing a roof as non taxable when the new one is of similar size. Room additions, new living space, pools and new decks are taxable. Active solar energy systems are excluded from assessment. Each county assessor makes the call. Ontario sits in San Bernardino County, so if you are adding a second story or a big addition at the same time, ask that assessor before you start.

One more twist from the 2026 session. AB 1971 asked the state to make clear that Class A fire rated roofs and other home hardening work do not trigger reassessment. Check where that bill stands before you rely on it.

What We Tell Owners Before They Sign

We are roofers, not tax preparers. Your CPA or enrolled agent has the final word on your return. But the paperwork that makes their job easy starts with us.

Ask for an itemized invoice that splits the reroof from any other work, like attic insulation, gutters or a patio cover. Keep the city permit and the final sign off. Take dated photos of the old roof before tear off. If part of the bill is a rental unit, a granny flat or a home office, ask for that part to be shown on its own line.

Do not let a sales pitch about tax credits push you into a roof. As of October 2026, the federal credits that pitch is built on are gone. The real reasons to reroof are leaks, age and insurance, and those have not changed.

If you want a written estimate you can hand to your tax preparer, call Ontario Roofing at (909) 404-9464 for a free written estimate.