Form 4562 Questions

[tucow]

For the past several years I've had professional tax help. I would like to start following along in Turbotax on my own.

I have rental property that's been depreciated since 1998. I don't have the original Form 4562 from the first year or the subsequent 4562's, "Depreciation and Amortization Report" and the other is "Alternative Minimum Tax Depreciation Report" in Turbotax

I have the professional report from my tax accountant that I believe contains the correct forms including "Bonus Depreciation Report", "AMT Asset Report", "Depreciation Adjustment Report", "Future Depreciation Report", "Federal Asset Report" but I can't figure how to start entering this information in Turbotax.

How can I start entering this information at this late date into Turbotax premier so I can start using it from now on and keep my records accurate. I know I don't have to do this but I would like too.

[Anonymous_ · Accepted solution]

No one here can see what is contained on the various reports you have in your possession from your accountant.

For this first year with TurboTax, you might want to consider using TurboTax Live or Full Service.

See https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/online/live

Otherwise, you would start in the Rental and Royalties section of the TurboTax program and proceed through that entire section, Step-by-Step.

[Critter-3]

Using the asset  info from the depreciation worksheet from the CPA you need to enter in all the assets individually  from scratch into the TT program when you come to the asset sections.   Needed  are the original basis, date placed in service, prior year depreciation taken, etc.  

[Carl]

Typically, all of the above information would be on the 4562's for that property. I'm somewhat surprised you don't have those documents included in your printout of your 2021 tax return. I would highly suggest you contact the CPA and ask for that, as you "did" pay them for it. The CPA is morally obligated to provide you a total and complete printout of all documentation, as you would need that if you were audited so you can "Follow the numbers" and see how specific figures and numbers were calculated and arrived at.

Do you have any document that shows the in service date for each individual asset, along with the cost of that asset?

Do you have any document that indicates you took either SEC179 or the Special Depreciation Allowance on any asset, along with the amount taken, and the original cost of that asset and the date that asset was placed in service?

If you have that information, then you have all you need.

Take note that I would not expect you to have anything for a SEC179 deduction (but you could), and it's very possible that you could have something showing a Special Depreciation Allowance on a given asset.

[Anonymous_]

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@Carl wrote:

Typically, all of the above information would be on the 4562's for that property. I'm somewhat surprised you don't have those documents included in your printout of your 2021 tax return.

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@tucow's tax accountant is almost certainly not using TurboTax so the "Form 4562 reports" present in TurboTax will almost certainly not exist.

Form 4562, itself, is required to be filed in only certain (and limited) circumstances which probably do not apply here.

See https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i4562#en_US_2021_publink1000309253

Regardless, @tucow most likely has everything needed (in the form of documents and reports generated by the tax accountant) to enter the assets into TurboTax.

[Carl]

In my experience, (back in the day) when a CPA was doing my taxes, they provided me a printout to sign and mail, and another printout for my personal records. The 2nd printout was a significantly thicker stack, and had everything in it including the two landscape 4562 - weather the portrait form was actually filed or not.

[Anonymous_]

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@Carl wrote:

In my experience, (back in the day) when a CPA was doing my taxes, they provided me a printout to sign and mail, and another printout for my personal records. The 2nd printout was a significantly thicker stack, and had everything in it including the two landscape 4562....

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There are a number of professional income tax preparation software packages.

Your CPA, apparently, was using a package that included forms similar to those included in TurboTax. Not all professional income tax preparation software is the same (obviously), not to mention the various professional accounting software programs generating depreciation schedules and like documents.

[Mike9241]

the IRS does not require form 4562 unless there's an addition to depreciable assets for that year. most software packages follow this. 

[Anonymous_]

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@Mike9241 wrote:

the IRS does not require form 4562 unless there's an addition to depreciable assets for that year. most software packages follow this. 

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Exactly. However, some TurboTax users (at least one) assume that merely because "Form 4562" appears somewhere on the document that it is a form that is filed every year a depreciation deduction is taken, regardless.