Useful life
Useful life, only where we can cite it.
Every row has a source and says what kind of source it is. A tax schedule is how long the IRS lets a landlord depreciate something; it is not how long the thing lasts. Where we have no citable figure, we say so and Fair Charge asks you.
| Item | Useful life | Source type | Source | State rules on this charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carpet | 5–9 yrs | tax schedule | IRS Publication 527, Table 2-1: carpets, 5 years (GDS) and 9 years (ADS) | — |
| Interior paint | No citable figure yet | — | You enter the life in Fair Charge | Delaware |
| Cleaning | No citable figure yet | — | You enter the life in Fair Charge | California, Nevada, Rhode Island, Wyoming |
| Nail holes | No citable figure yet | — | You enter the life in Fair Charge | — |
| Blinds | No citable figure yet | — | You enter the life in Fair Charge | — |
| Carpet cleaning | No citable figure yet | — | You enter the life in Fair Charge | California, Missouri, Oregon, Washington |
| Appliances | 5–9 yrs | tax schedule | IRS Publication 527, Table 2-1: appliances such as stoves and refrigerators, 5 years (GDS) and 9 years (ADS) | — |
| Flooring | No citable figure yet | — | You enter the life in Fair Charge | — |
| Wall holes and patching | No citable figure yet | — | You enter the life in Fair Charge | — |
| Locks and rekeying | No citable figure yet | — | You enter the life in Fair Charge | — |
| Light bulbs and batteries | No citable figure yet | — | You enter the life in Fair Charge | — |
| Window screens | No citable figure yet | — | You enter the life in Fair Charge | — |
Data from IRS Publication 527 (Table 2-1) and state statutes from official legislature sites · synced Oct 5, 2026 · 2 sourced rows. Agency, industry and manufacturer figures are added only with a URL we have read.
Why so few rows
Plenty of websites publish confident lifespans for carpet or paint without saying where they come from. We only list a figure we can link to and label. Today that is the IRS recovery periods for carpets and appliances used in a residential rental: 5 years under the general depreciation system and 9 under the alternative one. Those are accounting periods, so treat them as a reference point you can argue from, not a fact about your carpet.
Know a published source we should read? Send it to us with the link.