It may take a bit of trial and error to get the assets
entered so that the same depreciation convention continues through the life of
the asset.
In general, go to the Assets
section of the business or rental that you are working on. Add the previous asset being sure to select
the right category and enter the date it was placed in service and the cost
shown on your previous returns. TurboTax
will select the class life and depreciation method that is appropriate for the
category that you entered. After all the
questions have been answered you can review the asset including the previous
depreciation. If everything matches with
your previous tax returns then you are good to go.
If not, you will need to delete that asset and start again
using the steps below:
Go to the section of your business or rental
where you adding an asset on the page titled Describe This Asset.
In order to enter the asset exactly as it has
been reported in the past, choose the last option on the list, Intangibles, Other Property, then click
Continue.
On the next page titled, Tell Us a Little More, select Other
asset type, then click Continue.
Enter the detailed information about the
asset: description, cost, date purchased
or acquired. Click Continue.
Continue with additional details on the next
screen, then click Continue.
Select the appropriate Asset Class, then click Continue.
Choose the MACRS
Convention, then click Continue.
Select the Depreciation
Method, then click Continue.
Answer the question regarding Listed Property, then click Continue. There may be some additional background
questions as well, keep going.
You will eventually come to a screen to confirm
the Prior Depreciation, enter the
data and click Continue.
Finally, you will see an Asset Summary screen with the current year depreciation amount
listed. There is also a check-box here
to Show Details. This will open a full description for the
asset so you can verify that it matches the previously reported
information. If it does not, you can
choose to go Back and re-enter the data that needs to be changed.
