Question on rentals

We relocated to another state.

Our plan was to rent out our home in the former State. But because it needed repair/remodeling we could not rent it out immediately. The remodeling/repairs will take a while.

Is there any IRS law/regulation that states that  1. we cannot deduct expenses as an investment property because we haven't rented it out?

  1. Does the IRS have any time limit that it has to be rented out to qualify as an investment property?
Reply to
rita goldman
Loading thread data ...

You didn't ask this question, but another option would be to sell your former residence and purchase a separate rental property in that area. Some potential benefits:

  • You can take advantage of the home-owner exemption on capital gains on your former residence. This would not in general be available for rental property, although if you sold soon enough after leaving you could still get it.
  • It cleanly separates the personal residence from the rental/investment property, so it would simplify things like assigning basis and the question of when this became rental property.

Of course, you could have other non-tax or non-financial reasons for wanting to keep the old property.

Reply to
Tom Russ
Reply to
Stuart O. Bronstein

My understanding varies slightly, the situation also being a bit different. I bought a 3 family house, which was a fixer upper. All the costs were added to the basis, as the property was not "placed in service" yet. That term was satisfied once the property was listed with an agent to rent.

In the case above, I don't believe the repairs are deductible at all. An outright upgrade, say, a new roof, would get added to the basis. Repair made once the unit is actually rented are a deduction, but before that, the owned should have maintained their own home.

Elsewhere, I recall seeing that things like having the house painted are not a deduction in either case, not if done before a sale, nor before it's placed into service as a rental.

formatting link
might help prove one of us correct. Page 16 offers a scenario of placing a former home into use as a rental, and suggests "Miscellaneous repairs (after renting) $297" which implies to me the before renting can't be deducted.

Reply to
JoeTaxpayer

According to IRS Publication 946, you were right and I was wrong. It says (among other things,

"You place property in service when it is ready and available for a specific use, whether in a business activity, an income-producing activity, a tax-exempt activity, or a personal activity. Even if you are not using the property, it is in service when it is ready and available for its specific use.:

Reply to
Stuart O. Bronstein

Best to rent it as a slum for a short time, then make repairs and properly allocate between repairs and improvements.

Reply to
Taxed and Spent

BeanSmart website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.