- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Get your taxes done using TurboTax
The basis for depreciation will be the lesser of your original cost plus any capital improvements during ownership or the fair market value on the date of conversion. Given the length of time that the home was a personal residence, I am assuming that your original basis (plus the cost of capital improvements) is less than the current market value. That will be your depreciable basis. Remember to remove the value of the land, as land is not a depreciable asset.
Residential real estate is depreciable over 27.5 years. Per the IRS:
Conversion to business use. If you place property in service in a personal activity, you can’t claim depreciation. However, if you change the property's use to business or the production of income, you can begin to depreciate it at the time of the change. You place the property in service for business or income-producing use on the date of the change.
Example. You bought a house and used it as your personal home several years before you converted it to rental property. Although its specific use was personal and no depreciation was allowable, you placed the home in service when you began using it as your home. You can begin to claim depreciation in the year you converted it to rental property because at that time its use changed to the production of income.
Therefore, there is not much depreciation left on the property if you have already lived in the home for 27 years.
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"