I understand your confusion. Basically, after you work through the property profile section you "may" need to also work it through the Assets/Depreciation section. It's the Assets/Depreciation section where you will enter all of your acquisition costs of the property. One thing I do stress though, is that you pay attention to detail on each and every screen. Read the small print before you make any selections or enter any data. For most, that small print matters big time, so you set things up correctly.
Setting up your rental property correctly in the program for that first year is not an option. It's a must. Even the tiniest of mistakes will grow exponentially over time. Then when you become aware of the error years down the road (usually years latter when doing the tax return for the tax year you sold the property) the cost of fixing that error *will* be high. So if you have questions as you work it through, don't guess. ASK!
The below information is provided to help clarify things that in my opinion, the program may not clarify well enough for your specific situation.
Rental Property Dates & Numbers That Matter.
Date of Conversion - If this was your primary residence or 2nd home before, then this date is the day AFTER you moved out, or the date you decided to lease the property – whichever is later.
In Service Date - This is the date a renter "could" have moved in. Usually, this date is the day you put the FOR RENT sign in the front yard.
Number of days Rented - the day count for this starts from the first day a renter "could" have moved in. That should be your "in service" date if you were asked for that. Vacant periods between renters count also PROVIDED you did not live in the house for one single day for any type of personal pleasure use during said period of vacancy.
Days of Personal Use - This number will be a big fat ZERO. Read the screen. It's asking for the number of days you lived in the property AFTER you converted it to a rental. I seriously doubt (though it is possible) that you lived in the house (or space, if renting a part of your home) as your primary residence, 2nd home, or any other personal use reasons after you converted it to a rental.
Business Use Percentage. 100%. I'll put that in words so there's no doubt I didn't make a typo here. One Hundred Percent. After you converted this property or space to rental use, it was one hundred percent business use. What you used it for prior to the date of conversion doesn't count.
