Depreciation of rental

[SMY1]

I have converted my primary home back to a rental for the 2nd time. The last time I completed a schedule E was in 2016, when I converted the rental back to my primary home in October.  From October 2016 through 2020 I lived in the home and it was not a rental.

I got married in June, 2021. I moved out and rented the home again in August. 

Do I use the same depreciation amount on Schedule E that I used back in 2012-2016?

[Cynthiad66]

Yes use the same basis for depreciation unless you made capital improvements (renovations) since you last rented it.

If you renovate on made capital improvements while living there you can increase your basis by the cost of those renovations.

Capital improvements include the following:

Capital Improvements

Pub 527 Rental Property - IRS

• additions, such as a deck, pool, additional room, etc.
• renovating an entire room (for example, kitchen)
• installing central air conditioning, a new plumbing system, etc.
• replacing 30% or more of a building component (for example, roof, windows, floors, electrical system, HVAC, etc.)

[Carl]

Yes use the same basis for depreciation unless you made capital improvements (renovations) since you last rented it.

Sorry, but that's wrong. When converting the property to a rental for the 2nd time, you have to adjust the cost basis of the structure (not the land) by the amount of depreciation already taken.

New cost basis = original cost basis, minus the total of all depreciation taken previously, plus the cost of any property improvements done after your conversion the first time from a rental to personal use.

It's also up to you to keep a record of that prior depreciation, because you're required to recapture it in the future when/if you sell the property. TurboTax can not, does not and will not track depreciation taken during the period of time it was a rental the first time.