Congratulations on your new home! And kudos to you for tackling these items in advance!
Energy Efficient Renovations - There are two credits that you should check out: Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit and Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit. You should keep all your records of material and labor costs. Review the differences between the credits (on the previous link) to determine what your credit limits are, based on the type of eligible property. Some credits will apply to a second home as well.
Additional Renter - There is a lot of discussion around this topic because the IRS has some rather specific regulations for this income. Here are important factors to consider with this rental. Are you planning on having a roommate or operating like an AirBnb? Review this link if you are considering the AirBnb route. When a portion of your property is rented out and a portion is used for your personal purposes, the IRS is very detailed on what they will and won't allow under these circumstances. You will need to allocate your expenses between personal and rental usage. You can do this by either dividing the expense by the number of people living in the home or based on square footage of use. Keep detailed records of your expenses. You can get the full picture of rental income responsibilities by clicking here.
General Renovations/Repair - In order to get an idea of your options for depreciating your assets, dive into this article where it explains in detail. Depreciating assets can get tricky but is explained well here. Capital gains will depend on amount of gain and length of ownership. Consider more of the details here. This article will help you distinguish between a repair or an improvement. Taking all of your factors into consideration after reviewing these resources will help you best determine the type of rental that will be the best tax benefit for you. Good luck!
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