Don't go changing things arbitrarily, or you'll really mess up things in the program and won't be able to e-file. You just made some wrong selections on specific screens it all, and I can understand how that can be done. Start over in the Rental & Royalty section from the beginning, and if you see your property listed there, click the DELETE button, then YES to confirm the delete. Then click the DONE button to completely exit.and leave the rental & Royalty Income (SCH E) section. Then start working back through it again, entering everything anew from scratch. It's important to get this right in this section, because if it's not right, then the "Your Home" section will be a mess when you get to that point later in the program. So start working through the Rentals & Royalty Income section again, using the below as guidance when you get to the screens I cover below.
- Screen titled "What type of rental is this?" select Single Family
- Screen titled "Do any of these situations apply to this property?" select both "I rent out a part of my home" *AND* select "I converted this property from personal use to a rental in 2016"
- On screen "Was this property rented all of 2016?" Select NO.
Then enter the number of days it was rented, with you day count starting from the first day the first renter moved it, and don't stop counting days until you get to Dec 31, 2016. I am assuming you started renting in Apr 2016, and it continued through the rest of the year. Periods of time between renters DO count for days rented, *Provided* you did not use that space for personal use for one single day between renters.
For "number of days of personal use" enter a big, bit, round, circular ZERO. Read the screen.....all of it. It's asking for the number of days you lived in the property or used the rented space *FOR* *PERSONAL* *USE* *AFTER* you converted it to a rental. WHile possible, I doubt you did. What you used the space for, prior to converting it to a rental does not count for jack squat.
Now when you get to the screen that wants percentage, you must get this right, and be able to prove it, should you ever get audited in the future. (If you put 25%, then if I were an IRS agent reviewing your taxes, I'd flag you for audit in a heartbeat.)
If you can, give me your state and city/county and I'll show you how to get a percentage you can "prove" and that will stand up to scrutiny should you ever have the unfortunate experience of an audit.
