We rented condo for 2 months, repair cost is $14500, HOA is $310 a month and property taxes are $1400. Our loss $17820 for the 2017. Could we deduct our rental loss?

[tolik2121]

I have rented my condo for 6 years, in 2017 the unit was rented for only January and February. After tenant moved out in March we decided to do some repairs: replaced carpet, windows, kitchen cabinets and repainting. Now, we are ready to rent it out again. So far, our income from rent is $1800 for 2 months, our repair cost is $14500, our HOA is $310 a month and property taxes are $1400. Our loss would be $17820 for the 2017. Would we able to deduct our rental loss?

[Critter]

You can deduct the regular annual expenses like insurance, taxes, HOA etc  but the "repairs" you mention are not all expenses ...

Windows & cabinets are improvements depreciated over 27.5 years, the carpet is 5 year property but the paint can be a repair  ...    you can report it all on the Sch E even though the property was empty for a time.

[tolik2121]

If I report paint, carpet, HOA and property taxes my loss would be $10800. Can I deduct them as a loss?

[Critter]

Yes, if your income is less than $150K.

[tolik2121]

Can I put negative -10800 on line 17 in Form 1040?

[TaxGuyBill]

No, you need to go the entire rental section and enter all of the separate information.  You need to enter the carpet, windows, and cabinets as "assets".  Have you been depreciating the building itself?  You need to.  If you have not been doing that, you should go to a tax professional to 'catch up' on the missed depreciation.