Did you check the box (in Property Profile) indicating that you rent out part of your home? The guidance for that scenario appears below.
If you rent part of your property, you must divide certain expenses between the part of the property used for rental purposes and the part of the property used for personal purposes, as though you actually had two separate pieces of property.
You cannot deduct any part of the cost of the first phone line even if your tenant has unlimited use of it. If you install a second phone line strictly for your tenant's use, all of the cost of the second line is deductible as a rental expense. You do not have to divide the expenses that belong only to the rental part of your property. For example, if you paint a room that you rent, or if you pay premiums for liability insurance in connection with renting a room in your home, your entire cost is a rental expense.
You can use any reasonable method for dividing the expense. The most common methods for dividing an expense are based on the number of rooms in your home or based on the square footage of your home.
