My wife and I just purchased a second home in mid 2020. We did not sell our other property (a townhome which is owned outright/no mortgage) in anticipation of using it a rental property. We had a renter move into the place on January 1st, 2021. Prior to renting the townhome, we had the interior professionally painted and cleaned (had not be painted in 15 years). Unfortunately, the first painted botched the job so we had to have it repainted a second time using a different company. As such, we spent between $4k and $5k to get the interior suitable for renting the space.
I'm using TurboTax Premier and it's stating that since it was not rented in 2020, it should be deleted as 'rental' from my return. However, I've read that cleaning, repairs, utilities, HOA fees, real estate taxes, etc. are deductible when the property is vacant with the intent to rent.
Please advise and thank you.
