Can I deduct a portion of last year's tax preparation fees as part of my rental property expenses? Preparation included my personal and rentals in one effort.

[Irene2805 · Accepted solution]

Yes - You can deduct a portion of last year's tax preparation fees as part of your rental property expenses.  You can deduct only the portion pertaining to the rental property, for example Schedule E. depreciation schedules, etc.

[sjs89]

Where do I take this deduction for cost of Turbo Tax?

[DawnC]

Unless you’re self-employed, tax preparation fees are no longer deductible in tax years 2018 through 2025 due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that Congress signed into law on December 22, 2017. Self-employed taxpayers can still write off their tax prep fees as a business expense.

Prior to 2018, taxpayers who weren’t self-employed were allowed to claim tax prep fees as a 2% miscellaneous deduction. However, few taxpayers were able to take advantage of this deduction due to the restrictive conditions of the 2% rule.

If you are self-employed, you can claim the business-related portion of the cost of the software and or filing fees on your Schedule C as a miscellaneous expense.  You can use any reasonable method to allocate the expense between personal and business use.   The personal portion would not be deductible for the reason above.   @sjs89