Yes, Costs you incur to place the property in service, manage it and maintain it generally are deductible. Even if your rental property is temporarily vacant, the expenses are still deductible while the property is vacant and held out for rent.
Deductible expenses include, but are not limited to:
- Advertising
- Cleaning and maintenance
- Commissions
- Depreciation
- Homeowner association dues and condo fees
- Insurance premiums
- Interest expense
- Local property taxes
- Management fees
- Pest control
- Professional fees
- Rental of equipment
- Rents you paid to others
- Repairs
- Supplies
- Trash removal fees
- Travel expenses
- Utilities
- Yard maintenance
All expenses you deduct must be ordinary and necessary, and not extravagant.
You can deduct the cost of travel to your rental property, if the primary purpose of the trip is to check on the property or perform tasks related to renting the property. If you mix business with pleasure, though, you're required to allocate the travel costs between deductible business expenses and nondeductible personal costs. Be careful not to cheat yourself on the breakdown.
Consider this example: John, who lives in North Carolina and loves to ski, owns a rental condo in Park City, Utah, which he visits each January to get the place ready for that season's tenants. His travel expenses are deductible if, for example, the primary purpose of his trip is to clean and paint the unit. Let's say that during a five-day visit to the condo, John spends three days cleaning and painting and two days skiing. Some advisors would say he gets to deduct 60 percent of his travel costs, since 60 percent of the time was spent on the business of tending to his rental unit.
