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revorgp
Returning Member

Proper way to enter the sale of a rental property that used to be my primary residence

Hi All,

 

I purchased a house in 2008 and lived in it until mid-2019.  I then rented it out from December 2019 until March 2021.  After the tenants moved out.  I spent a month fixing it up (paint, new carpet, new water heater, other repairs) and sold it in May 2021.  I qualify for the capital gain exclusion.  I received a form 1099-S from the sale.

 

What's the best to enter this transaction?  Since the was not rented out after March 2021 and no longer used for business purposes, do I need to convert it back a personal residence and list it under Sale of a Home?  Do I list the sale under Rental Properties and Royalties?

 

Appreciate any guidance you can provide.

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5 Replies
ColeenD3
Expert Alumni

Proper way to enter the sale of a rental property that used to be my primary residence

Enter the sale in the Rental section to include the income and expenses for the time you rented it. There is a place to indicate the period of time it was your main home.

Full steps for entering rental property:

  • The first entry for the sale is found during the set-up of the property: Tell us about your situation this year/Click Sold or disposed of property

Next, the asset section of expenses will already be checked: 

*Assets

*Sold rental property

Includes info on the property you sold or disposed of. Since we know this applies to you, we've already selected it.

  • After you click on Asset, you will be asked about the purchase: Tell Us About This Rental Asset
  • In the screen Tell Us More About This Rental Asset, you will indicate the sale the date of the sale and the date you began using it for business. You can see the screenshot in a previous answer.
  • Next: Confirm Your Prior Depreciation
  • Next: Special Handling Required?
  • Next Home Sale?
  • Next: Sales Information. This is where you will be asked about the sales price.

 

 

revorgp
Returning Member

Proper way to enter the sale of a rental property that used to be my primary residence

Thank you for you reply.

 

TurboTax calculates that my business percentage for the asset is 6%.  Can you confirm that for the Sales Price and Sales Expenses, I should enter 6% of the Sales Price and Expenses respectfully (if sales price was $100, I would enter $6)?

 

Another follow-up question - for the work that I completed (new carpet, etc.) after the tenants moved out - do I add the cost of that work into the cost basis (purchase price) of the home?

ColeenD3
Expert Alumni

Proper way to enter the sale of a rental property that used to be my primary residence

I don't understand the part about 6%. When you do repairs in conjunction with an improvement, it all counts as an improvement. The entire improvement is added to the basis (purchase price).

 

When you break out the home portion for the exclusion, it will calculate any personal gain on the sale. You will also have to recapture any depreciation ou took.

 

 

 

 

 

revorgp
Returning Member

Proper way to enter the sale of a rental property that used to be my primary residence

Let me try to clarify my previous response.

 

When edit the asset for Residential Real Estate, it lists the description, date places into service, asset type, cost, business %, and prior depreciation.  Business % is prepopulated at 6.00.

 

A few screens later I reach Sales Information > Asset Sales Price (Business Portion Only).  What do I enter here?  The price the home sold for?  Or 6% of the sales price of the home?  

 

 

Carl
Level 15

Proper way to enter the sale of a rental property that used to be my primary residence

When edit the asset for Residential Real Estate, it lists the description, date places into service, asset type, cost, business %, and prior depreciation. Business % is prepopulated at 6.00.

That's just not right. Where you do you get 6%? How is it "pre-populated?" Sales price is never pre-populated. The sales price is the price entered by human hands.

If you convert the property to personal use, then you can not report the sale in the SCH E section. Since it's only 2-3 months, leave it classified as a rental. For any property improvements done after the last tenant moved out, the program won't accept a business use percentage of 0%. So give it an in service date of the closing date of the sale and a business use percentage of the lowest it will take. It's either .01% or .1%. That way "if" any depreciation is taken (there may not be) it will be so minimal that it won't matter.

Reporting the Sale of Rental Property

If you qualify for the "lived in 2 of last 5 years" capital gains exclusion, then when prompted you WILL indicate that this sale DOES INCLUDE the sale of your main home. For AD MIL personnel who don't qualify because of PCS orders, select this option anyway, because you "MIGHT" qualify for at last a partial exclusion.

Start working through Rental & Royalty Income (SCH E) "AS IF" you did not sell the property. One of the screens near the start will have a selection on it for "I sold or otherwise disposed of this property in  2021". Select it. After you select the "I sold or otherwise disposed of this property in 2021" you continue working it through "as if" you still own it. When you come to the summary screen you will enter all of your rental income and expenses, even if it's zero. Then you MUST work through the "Sale of Property/Depreciation" section. You must work through each individual asset one at a time to report its disposition (in your case, all your rental assets were sold).

Understand that if more than the property itself is listed in your assets list, then you need to allocate your sales price across all of your assets.  You will only allocate the structure sales price; you will NOT allocate the land sales price, since the land is not a depreciable asset.  Then if you sold this rental at a gain, you must show a gain on all assets, even if that gain is $1 on some assets. Likewise, if you sold at a loss then you must show a loss on all assets, even if that loss is $1 on some assets.

Basically, when working through an asset you select the option for "I stopped using this asset in 2021" and go from there. Note that you MUST do this for EACH AND EVERY asset listed.

When you finish working through everything listed in the assets section, if you ever at any time you owned this rental you claimed vehicle expenses, then you must also work through the vehicle section and show the disposition of the vehicle. Most likely, your vehicle disposition will be "removed for personal use", as I seriously doubt you sold your vehicle as a part of this rental sale.

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