Can I deduct new furnace from rental income if it was a month before I rented the house?

[ramsgusom]

2018 was the year the house turned from primary residence to a rental house. I listed the house for rent In February 2018. My tenant did not move in until July 1st. I spent more than $2000 in May 2018 to install a new furnace because the previous one had broken down. 

Can I deduct this from my rental income? I was living in the house at this time, but technically I would have moved out if I had found someone to rent my house earlier. Aka the house was available to rent from Feb 2018, even though someone only moved in July 2018.

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

In general, yes.  Provided that the expense was considered a repair and not an improvement, you generally qualify to deduct expenses necessary to prepare the property to be rented.  This type of expense generally would be considered a repair as long as it is not part of a remodel of the room.  The furnace itself is considered depreciable property, but can be fully expensed because it is less than $2000.  

This FAQ discusses this and other types of deductible rental expenses:  https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/4209856

[forinterest]

This would need a speedy answer to be useful, as taxes are due tomorrow.

If the furnace is $3027 (so it can't be itemized to lower than $2500)  is there any way to expense it?

Even partially?  And why does TurboTax let me choose the Section 179 deduction if Technically a furnace doesn't qualify for section 179 on Rental Property