Yes. If you needed the electricity and dumpster to be able to make your capital improvements so that you could prepare the property for rent, then you could use such expenses as a part of the capital improvements added to the cost basis of the property. On the day it becomes available for rent and advertised as such, then you start your depreciation using the full combined amount as your rental cost basis (inherited value, capital improvements and expenses that allowed you to complete the capital improvements). And of course knowing your land value figure that is part of that total.
- Land value can be determined by using the tax assessment information from your city or county office.
Carl and @TurboTaxVal explained it in the following way: 'If you paid for property improvements, I would expect things like dumpster rental to be "a part of" the improvement process. For example, if you had a new roof put on, the old roof had to be torn off first of course, and go into a dumpster to be hauled away. In such a case, the dumpster rental along with any disposal costs incurred would be a part of the cost of the new roof.'
If the property was sitting vacant and you were not taking action to prepare it or make it available for rent then none of those expenses would be allowed to be used as an expense or deduction, now or later, as pointed out by @MarilynG1.
@TryingToUseTT
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