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If i moved to a rented house after living 2.5 years in purchase primary property and give it on Rent. Can i continue claim mortgage interest as tax benefit for it?

 
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5 Replies
JulieS
Expert Alumni

If i moved to a rented house after living 2.5 years in purchase primary property and give it on Rent. Can i continue claim mortgage interest as tax benefit for it?

We'd love to help you complete your tax return, but need more information. Can you please clarify your question?

 

Are you saying that you are renting your home to someone else now?

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Carl
Level 15

If i moved to a rented house after living 2.5 years in purchase primary property and give it on Rent. Can i continue claim mortgage interest as tax benefit for it?

Mortgage interest for property that you own and lease out to others as rental real estate is claimed/reported on the SCH E. If you work through the program the way it's designed and intended to be used, then while working through the rental expenses section you will be asked for mortgage interest, as well as property taxes and property insurance. I can't stress enough the importance of reading the small print on each and every screen, because it does matter - especially in the tax year you convert the property from personal use to residential rental real estate.

 

If i moved to a rented house after living 2.5 years in purchase primary property and give it on Rent. Can i continue claim mortgage interest as tax benefit for it?

Yes. After living for 2.5 year in that house. We moved to a new rental house ourlself and put that property to someone else. Can i continue claiming Mortgage interest + Property tax benefit for it? Is there any maximum limits on amount which i can claim ?

JohnB5677
Expert Alumni

If i moved to a rented house after living 2.5 years in purchase primary property and give it on Rent. Can i continue claim mortgage interest as tax benefit for it?

If I understand this correctly.

  • You owned a primary home for 2.5 years.
  • You moved out of it.
  • You now rent it to someone else.

If that is correct, yes you can deduct the mortgage interest and real estate taxes.  But it won't be as your personal home.

This is a rental property, and it should be posted to Rentals, Royalties, and Farm a Schedule E - Rental

 

Log into TurboTax

  1. Choose Wages & Income
  2. Scroll down to Rentals, Royalties, and Farm
  3. Select Rental Property and Royalties (Sch E)
  4. Continue through the interview and describe your property.
  5. You will be reporting.
    1. Rental income
    2. Expenses, this will include the interest and RE Taxes.
    3. Depreciation.  It is important to include depreciation.
      1. It will give you an additional tax break every year.
      2. It is added back when you sell the property.
      3. It is added back regardless of if you took credit for it or not.

If this does not completely answer your question, please contact us again and provide some additional details.


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Carl
Level 15

If i moved to a rented house after living 2.5 years in purchase primary property and give it on Rent. Can i continue claim mortgage interest as tax benefit for it?

Can i continue claiming Mortgage interest + Property tax benefit for it?

Yes. If you converted the property to a rental in 2022, then property taxes and mortgage interest get prorated. That prorated amounts for the period of time it was personal use are claimed on SCH A as an itemized expense. Then the amount for the period of time it was a rental are a SCH E deduction.

Property insurance is not deductible at all for the period of time it was personal use. But a prorated amount is deductible on SCH E for the period of time it was a rental.

 

Is there any maximum limits on amount which i can claim ?

No.

It seems to me that this is your first time dealing with rental property. One thing I can't stress enough, is that in your first year of renting absolute perfection is not an option.... it's a must. Even the tiniest of mistakes can (and will) grow exponentially over time. Then when you catch your error years down the road (usually in the tax year you sell the property) the cost of fixing it will be high. So if you have more questions, my all means, ask. I also reiterate again that, as you're working this through the SCH E section of the program, *READ THE SMALL PRINT*, as it matters. The programmers didn't put it there because they were bored and wanted to fill up white space. The below information is also provided in the hopes you find it helpful.

Rental Property Dates & Numbers That Matter.

Date of Conversion - If this was your primary residence or 2nd home before, then this date is the day AFTER you moved out, or the date you decided to lease the property – whichever is later.
In Service Date - This is the date a renter "could" have moved in. Usually, this date is the day you put the FOR RENT sign in the front yard.
Number of days Rented - the day count for this starts from the first day a renter was contracted to move in, and/or "could" have moved in. That would be your "in service" date or after if you were asked for that. Vacant periods between renters do not count for actual days rented. Please see IRS Publication927 page 17 at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p527.pdf#en_US_2020_publink1000219175 Read the “Example” in the third column.
Days of Personal Use - This number will be a big fat ZERO. Read the screen. It's asking for the number of days *YOU* lived in the property AFTER you converted it to a rental. I seriously doubt (though it is possible) that you lived in the house (or space, if renting a part of your home) as your primary residence, 2nd home, or any other personal use reasons after you converted it to a rental.
Business Use Percentage. 100%. I'll put that in words so there's no doubt I didn't make a typo here. One Hundred Percent. After you converted this property or space to rental use, it was one hundred percent business use. What you used it for prior to the date of conversion doesn't count.

RENTAL PROPERTY ASSETS, MAINTENANCE/CLEANING/REPAIRS DEFINED

Property Improvement.

Property improvements are expenses you incur that Improve, restore, or otherwise “better” the property. Basically, they retain or add value to the property.

Betterments:
Expenses that may result in a betterment to your property include expenses for fixing a pre-existing defect or condition, enlarging or expanding your property, or increasing the capacity, strength, or quality of your property. An example of a pre-existing condition or defect in this context would be something such as foundation repair (slab jacking) or some other, hidden and costly, anomaly.
Restoration:
Expenses that may be for restoration include expenses for replacing a substantial structural part of your property, repairing damage to your property after you properly adjusted the basis of your property as a result of a casualty loss, or rebuilding your property to a like-new condition.
Adaptation:
Expenses that may be for adaptation include expenses for altering your property to a use that isn’t consistent with the intended ordinary use of your property when you began renting the property. Adding a wheelchair ramp would be an example.

 

Expenses for these types of costs are entered in the Assets/Depreciation section and depreciated over time. Property improvements can be done at any time after your initial purchase of the property. It does not matter if it was your residence or a rental at the time of the improvement. It still adds value to the property.

To be classified as a property improvement, two criteria need to be met:

1) The improvement must become "a material part of" the property. For example, remodeling the bathroom, new cabinets or appliances in the kitchen. New carpet. Replacing that old Central Air unit.

2) The improvement must retain or add "real" value to the property. In other words, when the property is appraised by a qualified, certified, licensed property appraiser, he will appraise it at a higher value, than he would have without the improvements.

There are rules that allow you to just flat-out expense and deduct some property improvements instead of capitalizing and depreciating them, if the total cost of the improvement was less than $2,500. It’s referred to as “safe harbor di-minimis” But depending on the specific situation, this may or may not be beneficial. Just be aware that not every property improvement that cost less than $2,500 qualifies for this. If this interest you, the rules can get complex. So a good place to start reading is on the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tangible-property-final-regulations. The stuff on di-minimis starts about one page down.

Cleaning & Maintenance

Those expenses incurred to maintain the rental property and its assets in the usable condition the property and/or asset was designed and intended for. Routine cleaning and maintenance expenses are only deductible if they are incurred while the property is classified as a rental. Cleaning and maintenance expenses incurred in the process of preparing the property for rent for the very first time are not deductible.

Repair

Those expenses incurred to return the property or its assets to the same usable condition they were in, prior to the event that caused the property or asset to be unusable. Repair expenses incurred are only deductible if incurred while the property is classified as a rental. Repair costs incurred in the process of preparing the property for rent for the very first time are not deductible.

Additional clarifications: Painting a room does not qualify as a property improvement. While the paint does become “a material part of” the property, from the perspective of a property appraiser, it doesn’t add “real value” to the property.

However, when you do something like convert the garage into a 3rd bedroom for example, making a 2-bedroom house into a 3-bedroom house adds “real value”. Of course, when you convert the garage to a bedroom, you’re going to paint it. But you will include the cost of painting as a part of the property improvement – not an expense separate from it.

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