Painting is not a property improvement by itself. Under no circumstances do you list painting as a property improvement by itself. See the "Additional clarifications" above. You would "include" the cost of painting as a part of a property improvement that required it. (such as putting new sheetrock on an entire wall.)
"deed recording fee" adds to the cost basis of the property.
"fee to transfer to management company," Nope. That does not add to the cost basis and is not deductible as a sales expense. That has nothing what-so-ever to do with the loan or with your ownership of the property. If this is for a 3rd party company that you are paying to manage the rental for you, then that will be a valid expense claimed as a management fee in the rental expenses section.
"interior painting"
Nope. If that's all you did, that is in no way a property improvement. You have to look at it from the perspective of a property appraiser. Painting alone flat out does not add value to the property, because you have no way of knowing the buyer will even like the color. See "Additional clarifications" above for details about including painting cost as a part of a property improvement such as building a wall or replacing the sheetrock on a wall.
"front door replacement costs, solar fan in the roof," For the front door, definitely adds to cost basis. For the fan, if you're referring to an attic fan then that too adds to the cost basis.
"Washer/Dryer" If you provided that washer/dryer after the purchase then I would not include it in the cost basis at all. Since appliances are depreciated over 5 years, you're creating a future nightmare when the washer/dryer has to be replaced. I can 100% guarantee it. Since the washer/dryer cost less than $2500 you should just expense those items and be done with it. If you purchased them new after you purchased the property, then you can expense your purchase price. Otherwise, you expense the FMV of those items on the date placed in service.
"What about the HOA fees that I paid while preparing the unit to be rented? " Not deductible anywhere. Period. Remember, cost incurred preparing the property to rent are just flat out not deductible. But once the unit is placed in service, your HOA fees are deductible as a rental expense from that point forward. There is no specific place for HOA fees in the rental expenses section. But the very, very, very last thing you're asked for in that section is "other expenses not already reported" and that's where you would enter the HOA fees paid.
Since the property was not available for rent until April 2018, that means this property is not reported on your 2017 return on SCH E at all. But that doesn't matter really. Having placed it in service in 2018 makes all the above we've talked about, true for your 2018 return.
Here's a bit more clarity.
- Expenses incurred that are related to the acquisition of the property are added to the cost basis of the property. (painting costs are not acquisition costs)
- Expenses incurred related to the acquisition of the mortgage loan are amortized (not capitalized) and deducted over 15 years or the life of the loan, whichever is greater.
So title transfer fees are related to acquisition of the property, while points and credit check costs (only if you actually paid for them as indicated on your closing documents) are related to acquisition of the loan.
