There are a couple of reasons why TurboTax may not be allowing the Section 179 deduction.
First, does your rental property have $8,900 of net income to absorb the accelerated depreciation of the shower deduction? A Section 179 deduction must have net income to offset the deduction.
Second, have you formally elected the safe harbor to have your rental real estate to be treated as a trade or business for the purposes of Section 199a? To be eligible to do this you must meet the following requirements:
- Separate books and records are maintained to reflect income and expenses for each rental real estate enterprise.
- For rental real estate enterprises that have been in existence less than four years, 250 or more hours of rental services are performed per year. For other rental real estate enterprises, 250 or more hours of rental services are performed in at least three of the past five years.
- The taxpayer maintains contemporaneous records, including time reports, logs, or similar documents, regarding the following: hours of all services performed; description of all services performed; dates on which such services were performed; and who performed the services.
- The taxpayer attaches a statement to the return filed for the tax year(s) the safe harbor is relied upon (tax return must be printed and mailed in)
