Calculating Depreciation on Residential Rental Property

Dec 14, 2007 5 Replies

I am wondering how adjusted land value (county assesments) throughout the 27.5 years of straightline depreciation effect the amount to be deducted as depreciation expense.



Say I buy a house for 100,000. The county has assessed the land at



20,000 at the time of purchase. I then can depreciate 80,000/27.5 every full year. Now what happens down the road when the county assesses the land at 30,000 (and obviously my structure value would rise and property taxes would go up, but that's another story). Do i need to adjust my depreciation calculations or do i continue with the assessed land value at the time of purchase?


Additionally in my county (St. Louis County) they offer you two figures for the value of your house an appraised value and an assessed value. Which value do i use in this calcluation of depreciation. The appraised value seems more accurate having land valued at 20,000 and the structure valued at 80,000. The assessed value is ridiculously low (which i think is what they use to determine annual property taxes) with land at 4000 and structure at 16000. I don't think i should use the 4000 for land value or should I?


Thanks,


Joe



It ends there. $80K is the basis you depreciate from. But change 'can' to 'must'. Depreciation on rental property is not optional.

JOE

Not so.

Recapture of allowed or allowable depreciaiton upon sale is not optional.

Art - you are right, recapture depreciation is taxed. I did not suggest it wasn't. Which of my sentences do you feel wasn't so. "it ends there" was only in regard to the odd series of choices the OP went on to offer, having to do with assessment vs purchase price, not to the tax consequences down the road, at final sale. JOE

Whether you take the depreciation or not is apparently optional, but whether or not you recognize the recapture (whether you took the depreciation or not) is not optional. I think that was his point.

Stu

Thanks for the information!

Joe

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