AmeliesUncle: Replying to your post from February 25th: What exactly is wrong (and why do you think it is wrong)? Sorry if this is a duplicate reply. First, some basic background: this con...
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AmeliesUncle: Replying to your post from February 25th: What exactly is wrong (and why do you think it is wrong)? Sorry if this is a duplicate reply. First, some basic background: this concerns a rental apartment which I own that is located w/in my duplex home. It was entered into service on December 1, 1998. The cost basis (and acquisition cost) is $176,348. The unit has been continuously rented since it was placed into service, and the % of business use for the asset has always been 100%. The depreciation method has always been straight line. The recovery period is 27.5 years. Through tax year 2024, the accumulated depreciation was $167,272. That left $9,076 entering 2025. I had been credited with $6,413 per year in depreciation for this asset for each year between 1999 and 2024 (26 full years). I also received a depreciation credit of $534 for the one month’s of use in 1998. Combined, that matches the $167,272 which the software shows as ‘prior depreciation’ in Line 10 of the Asset Entry Worksheet. So here is the problem. After entering all my rental property income and expense data for 2025 in the EasyStep mode, I noticed that I was credited with only $330 of depreciation in Schedule E, rather than the $6,413 which I have been credited with for every full calendar year since 1999, and had expected to be credited for 2025. I went to the Asset Entry Worksheet, and verified that Line 3’s date of entry into service was correct, as was Line 4’s total acquisition cost, and line 6’s ‘percentage of business use’. Line 10’s Prior Depreciation was also accurate (as detailed above). Line 11’s Depreciation Deduction was the same $330 which populated Schedule E. I also double checked that line 47’s method of depreciation, which is Straight Line, was also accurate, as was Line 50’s recovery Period (27.5 years) and Line 51’s Year of Depreciation (which was recorded as 28). I also ‘ZOOMED’ from Asset Entry Worksheet to the Asset Life History table, and it showed the same depreciation numbers described above through 2024, as well as $6,407 for 2025 and an anticipated $2699 for 2026 before the original ‘basis’ of $176,348 would be fully exhausted. Even though I am confident that I am due at least $6,407 in depreciation for 2025, there are no depreciation numbers which the software permits me to directly over-ride. As I noted in my post from Wednesday night, the Turbotax rep who I managed to explain this all to on Tuesday evening (2/24) fully agreed that there was a flaw in the software. I should note that I tried your suggestion of zeroing out the ‘prior depreciation’ number in Line 10 of the Asset Entry Worksheet. That did succeed in converting Line 11’s Depreciation Deduction from $330 to what appears to be the correct number of $6,413, and this figure also populated Schedule E. I appreciate the suggestion, and I may apply it in my actual return. I also found one or two other ways to essentially “trick” the software into yielding the right number on Schedule E (for example, changing the date the asset entered into service in 1998 by a few days). However, I am reluctant to ‘work around’ a software flaw unless it’s a last resort, and it has the company’s endorsement. That’s why I will continue to appeal directly to Turbotax to reopen my Closed Case, and give me the technical assistance that will directly solve the problem if that’s possible. Not to be repetitive, their rep has acknowledged to me that the problem is with their product, and yet rather than get back to me, as the rep promised, they abruptly closed my case without explanation. I’m an old guy, but am familiar with the modern phenomenon of GHOSTING. Thanks, again for your help. Below, I have answered your other questions (at the risk of being redundant). How many years is it using? Is it using the correct number of years or how many years is it supposed to be using? The software accurately lists 27.5 years as the Recovery Period in the Asset Entry Worksheet, and 28 as the Year of Depreciation. However, their programming logic may somehow be flawed if they are cutting off my eligibility for full depreciation in 2025 because that year represents the 28th calendar year during which the asset is being depreciated (and 28 is a higher number than 27.5). If so, that would be flawed logic because the 27.5 year Recovery Period which started in December, 1998 has obviously not elapsed through the end of 2025. Through December 31, 2025, the asset would have used up 27.08 years of its 27.5 year Recovery Period. Has the business % varied from year to year? No, it has been 100% for the duration. If you leave the ‘prior depreciation’ BLANK, does that fix the problem? As noted above, this suggested ‘zeroing out’ does produce an accurate depreciation allowance, and I will consider applying this or other ‘workarounds’, but only as a last resort, and if the company continues to ignore my problem.