Airbnb expenses

[Countingcat]

Should  appliances be expensed or depreciated for Airbnb/rental property?

[DawnC]

It depends.   When you purchase items for your business, you can either deduct the full cost of the expense at once, or you can deduct the cost over multiple years (depreciation).  One-time expenses typically reduce your income by a larger amount than depreciating an asset over multiple years.  This means you could get a bigger refund.

The De Minimis Safe Harbor election lets you deduct the full cost of items worth $2,500 or less, instead of depreciating.  You can also use the Safe Harbor Election for Small Taxpayers to expense the cost of improvements to business buildings if you qualify.  These elections are available for Schedule C businesses, rentals, farms, and farm rentals.

For instructions on claiming the De Minimis Safe Harbor Election in TurboTax, select your product.

TurboTax Online

TurboTax Desktop

Rental depreciation vs. expensing 

[Countingcat]

Thank you. I also own an LLC so it looks like basically the same rules apply.