August 10, 2007
Mold Remediation Gives You a Tax Deduction
By Mortgage Articles, Internal Revenue Service-IRS

Did you know that if you are a landlord or a homeowner and you have to have mold removed from your home, it is tax deductible?  It qualifies as a repair that has to be done to protect the investment of your home.  The costs that you will incur from removing mold from your home or your business can be quite great, depending on the size of the infection.  Sometimes a quarter, half, or even a whole wall or more has to be removed, not to mention the cost of the chemicals and personal protection equipment necessary to do the job safely.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has concluded that the cost of mold removal and remediation are tax deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense.  This is a requirement that must be met before something can be deducted as a business expense: it must be both ordinary and necessary.

Renovations that increase the value of a home or other building cannot be counted as business expenses, but the removal of mold is necessary because the health of the workers and anyone else in the building will be affected, thus affecting the flow of cash into the business.  Mold remediation does not add value to the property, so it is fine to count it as tax deductible at the end of the year, even if it is not a business that is being treated.  Unfortunately, if the mold remediation is the part of a renovation plan that includes the entire property, then the cost is required to be capitalized instead of deducted from your taxes at the end of the year.

So, just what is deductible?  If you hire a professional service to do it for you, then the total of whatever they billed you after the project was completed is what you would write down as your deduction at the end of the year.  Also, any building materials that you have to purchase after the mold removal are tax deductible, as well.  These are necessary to complete the repairs.

It is also possible any relocation expenses that you or your family might incur while the mold remediation is taking place may be deductible as well.  Contact whoever prepares your taxes for you and ask them if it may be deductible.

If you play your cards right, you should be able to deduct most of the cost of your mold remediation, as long as it is not part of a larger renovation of the property.

September 5, 2007
Brown University Study Finds Link Between Depression and Household Mold
By Edmond Shenassa, Brown University


A groundbreaking public health study, led by Brown University epidemiologist, has found a connection between damp, moldy homes and depression.  Results are published in the American Journal of Public Health.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Brown University) - A groundbreaking public health study has found a connection between damp, moldy homes and depression.  The study, led by Brown University epidemiologist Edmond Shenassa, is the largest investigation of an association between mold and mood and is the first such investigation conducted outside the United Kingdom.

Shenassa said the findings, published in the American Journal of Public Health, came as a complete surprise. In fact, after a few U.K. studies published in the last decade had suggested a link, Shenassa and his skeptical team set out to debunk the notion that any link existed.

‘We thought that once we statistically accounted for factors that could clearly contribute to depression – things like employment status and crowing – we would see ant link vanish,” said Shenassa, the lead author of the study and an associate professor in the Department of Community Health at Brown.  “But the opposite was true.  We found a solid association between depression and living in a damp, moldy home.”