Complicated rental situation

[louiserp62]

For 2024, there are a variety of complications to my rental income, and I don't know how to handle them in TurboTax Premier. Here are all of the variables.

- I lived in my home in Pennsylvania from January 1, 2024 - September 7, 2024. (251 days)

- I had a renter sharing 50% of my home from January 1, 2024 - July 31, 2024. (213 days)

- On September 7, 2024, I moved from my home in Pennsylvania to Virginia. However, I kept my home in Pennsylvania, did some upgrades (painting and carpet replacement), and advertised it as a rental property.

- I did not get a renter for my property until January 3, 2025. Therefore, from the time I moved out of my home on September 7, 2024, through December 31, 2024, my home was vacant, but available as a rental.

In the Federal Taxes > Wages & Income section of the TurboTax Premier local app, it's asking, "Was This Property Rented for All of 2024?"

Unfortunately, I can't paste a screenshot in here. But I answered the questions in that section as follows:

- No, this property was not rented all year.

Days rented at fair rental price = 213

Personal use during the year = 251

Is that the correct way to answer those questions? Is there anything else I should know as I move forward with entering information about this property? Also, I used to be able to call TurboTax and get free help with a live person. Is that no longer an option?

Thank you!

Louise

[louiserp62]

Actually, TurboTax doesn't like what I put in. It is giving me a hard stop, "Check your entries, days rented plus days of personal use must be no more than 366." So I'm not sure what to do since my personal use days overlapped with my rental days

[AnnetteB6]

Based on the situation you described you 'rented part of your home' and also 'converted my home to a rental' during 2024.  Try checking those boxes in the Property Profile section of your return and see if things make more sense.

When you are answering questions about renting part of your home, you will be asked about the percentage of space that was rented versus the whole house (the 50% you mentioned).  That 50% situation will take care of your personal use of the property.

If you are asked about any personal use days, then the only days you would consider would be those between August 1st and September 7th when it was converted to a rental property.  Once it was converted, you did not have any further personal use days in the property.  

@louiserp62 

[louiserp62]

Thank you! I'll give that all a try and will let you know how it goes. It will take some time - I have a lot of information to gather.

[louiserp62]

Actually, I do have more questions about that. On the page titled "Converting Your Home to a Rental", it says, "Here in Rentals and Royalties, we will ask you about your expenses for the time your home was used as a rental. Later, in Deductions and Credits, we'll ask about your expenses for the time when you lived in the home.'

Does that mean that at first, I list my expenses for after I converted it to a rental? And then, in deductions and credits, I list expenses for while my home was 50% rental (while I was living there)?

And what about my homeowner's insurance? My insurance was due on 6/28 (not sure when my mortgage company paid it) but I believe that was for the coming year. How do I divvy that up?

Also, I did some repairs to my home after my housemate vacated on July 31, but before I moved out on September 7, in preparation for renting it out. For example, I replaced both toilet seats and I had some painting done. Can expenses like that go in as an expense for when my home was a rental, even though the expense occurred while I was living there without a housemate?

Finally, in July, I paid for my wall-to-wall carpet to be replaced in preparation for converting to a rental, but it wasn't actually replace until after I moved out. Can I claim that as an expense for when my place was 100% rental even though I paid for it before I moved out? And a tax advisor told me that the carpet has to be depreciated, so where in TurboTax do I enter that?