Vacant apt due to repairs - tax time - Landlord Forum thread 350052

Vacant apt due to repairs - tax time by Thomas on January 9, 2017 @09:22

We have an apartment that required all new flooring, cabinets, paint, pest control and such before we can rent it out. The processes to do all this work has spanned several months where it was not ready to rent out. I know the IRS doesn't allow vacancy deductions of rent not rec'd when on cash basis, but other than the repair costs, anything we can do as to deducting the rent that was not rec'd during this time?

Thanks,
-Tom NM/FL

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Re: Vacant apt due to repairs - tax time by Stephen (WA - Washington State) on January 9, 2017 @16:16	[ Reply ]

- Mileage - cost of each and every bit and bob you used in the repairs. - dump fees/garbage fees for stuff you disposed of - utilities you paid for during the vacancy

Re: Vacant apt due to repairs - tax time by Garry on January 9, 2017 @20:13	[ Reply ]

You are looking at the rent backwards. You must claim all rent received during the year, no matter how much or how little it was, even if the property was vacant 10, 11, or even all 12 months of the year. (you could have zero income for that year) Then you need to claim all your expenses for that year, no matter how much they were. Who knows, you could end up with a big loss for the year on that property, that you can claim against other income. A year ago , the IRS changed their figuring of expenses you are allowed to deduct from your income. In any separate category, such as flooring, cabinets, roofs, water heaters, furnaces, appliances, air conditioners, etc, you may expense out an amount up to $2,500 for that year. Those items in those categories that are more than $2,500 must be depreciated out. (most roofs and furnaces are usually going to be more than the $2,500, so they would need to be depreciated------the other categories I mentioned,(may) total under the $2,500, so you could claim them as an expense) I'm guessing that with inflation over the years, the IRS decided smaller items with smaller costs were not worth the bookkeeping of depreciation schedules, so they came up with an amount of $2,500 to just write off in any 1 year, instead of making a whole bunch of depreciation write-offs every year. I hope this makes sense to you. Best thing to do is to check with an accountant about what I just said.

Re: Vacant apt due to repairs - tax time

Re: Vacant apt due to repairs - tax time by Anonymous on January 9, 2017 @20:55	[ Reply ]

You should ask your tax adviser before accepting free advice that may not be accurate or applicable to you.