Hey Carl,
The issue I have is that Mama can only claim 1/2 of the original cost of the house in 1978. So on the page asking for Cost and Cost of Land shouldn't I put 1/2 of the cost of the land?? I wanted to be sure to come out with the correct basis for the house which I had figured out. The only way to get the same number was to use 1/2 of the value of the land on the date of purchase in 1978.
BTW, I spoke with the assessor's office and tax office to try to find out the land value in 1978 but their records don't go back that far. So per your advice I figured the percentage now and will just use it. I agree that it was probably way less in 1978, but I would just be pulling a number from the air if I guessed. So hopefully the IRS will agree!
I've also used the Safe Harbor depreciation for a couple of items purchased new for less than $2500. In that section I answered that the original use of the item began with me and I would take the 100% special depreciation allowance. It did not mention Safe Harbor. But I "assume" that is what this is? It showed up as the full value for the item instead of any depreciated value. These items were worth less than $500.
Thanks for guiding me through this first year!! I really appreciate your getting back to me so quickly. I'm trying to do Mama's return and also mine before the deadline! Thanks for confirming (or not) the above questions!
