Can we depreciate or claim losses on a home we own, but do not live in and do not make income with?

[thesinklers]

I'm sure I don't have the right terms and maybe this is super basic, but here's my question:

We own the home my parents live in, owned outright, no mortgage.  They do not pay rent to us.  We pay property taxes and any major expenses.  Can we claim depreciation on the home even though we don't have any income from it?  Can we claim any sort of loss?

Obviously, we can't claim a loss of income, per se, since we aren't charging them rent, but do we have ANYthing we can claim? 

If not, moving forward, is there something we should do differently?

Feel free to ask questions for clarity.  Thanks!

[xmasbaby0]

You own a second home and you pay the property taxes so you can enter the property taxes you paid as an itemized deduction--subject to the $10,000 cap on state and local taxes paid.  No, you cannot deduct anything for repairs or maintenance since it is not a rental property and you are not collecting any rent.

[SharonD007]

No, you cannot depreciate a home that you own that you do not rent, and you cannot deduct any losses. Since you do not rent it out, it is considered a second residence and you get the same tax benefits as you do for a primary residence. The only expense that you may be able to deduct would be your property taxes as xmasbaby0 indicated in the post above. 

For additional information, please review the TurboTax article Buying a Second Home—Tax Tips for Homeowners.