Since I will not have any taxable income in 2018, I have been trying to do some advance planning and research this circumstance ... since I too will have no use for the Special Allowance deduction on a prior year rental property loss carry forward. I have yet to explore further for other ramifications, but it appears the "Special Allowance" cannot be taken if you are married and file separately. This seems like a terribly absurd path to pursue for the sole purpose of avoiding an expense deduction, but it may be a viable and better path than forcing the deduction in low tax years. In addition, or as an alternative, I am also looking at doing an IRA to Roth Conversion to offset the tax losses. (When I can use it, I can't. When I don't want it, it seems to be forced upon you.) I would be very interested in any other follow-on suggestions and/or thoughts. Thanks.
