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Sale of Rental Property HELL

Hello

 

I know this issue has been tossed around endlessly.  But here it goes again.  

 

I sold a rental property in 2021 that was never a personal residence.   Under the "rentals and royalties" section my property has been listed for many years as a "Your Property Asset".  Also listed as "Your Property Assets" is a roof that was done several years ago and is depreciating over 27.5 years.  

 

I'm at a total loss for how to accurately reflect the sale of the rental property AND the roof.  What exactly to I need to do to make this work?  I've seen several posts on this topic but I can't for the life of me make it work on my end.  I've tried 2 calls to TT but haven't received accurate/confident helpers.  

 

thank you in advance.

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16 Replies
ColeenD3
Expert Alumni

Sale of Rental Property HELL

Since this is a major improvement, you would have to allocate the sales price between the building and the improvement (in addition to the building and the land). 

 

This is not like an appliance where there may have been several low-priced assets that may or may not have been depreciated in full and would be a nightmare to calculate.

 

Go through all the steps of the sale of the building after doing a manual allocation.  Then go back and do the same for the improvement.

Sale of Rental Property HELL

thanks for that response.  I wish I could say this solved my issue.  But I'm still at a loss for how to do this.  Yesterday I received confusing and conflicting info on the phone for a TT advisor.

 

How do you allocate the sale to the roof?  I don't get it.  

DaveF1006
Expert Alumni

Sale of Rental Property HELL

It depends. There is really no hard and fast rule to determine how to allocate a sale of the roof but I may have a couple of  guidelines for you to determine an equitable way to allocate a ratio for your rental house and improvements.

  1. Account for all of the cost basis for the rental house and each improvement and list them separately on a piece of paper. Add them all together to form a total basis and then determine a ratio for each asset. For an example, to determine the roof, you would allocate by:   basis of the roof/total basis for all assets.
  2. Once you determine the ratio, you can use this same ratio to determine what percentage of the total proceeds is to be applied to the roof.
  3. Use this same application for each of your assets.

[ Edited 02/15/22| 01:14 PM PST]

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Carl
Level 15

Sale of Rental Property HELL

This is easier/simpler than you think. I see this all the time, as most tend to over think this. So let me assist you with that light bulb illuminating over your head, if I may please. Since you only have two assets listed, this will be quick and easy. Here's all I need to know.

 - In the property itself, what amounts are in the COST box and the COST OF LAND box?

- For the roof, what's the cost basis of that asset?

- What is the total sales price as shown on your sales contract?

 

Sale of Rental Property HELL

- In the property itself, what amounts are in the COST box and the COST OF LAND box? $559,825 and $198,698.

 

- For the roof, what's the cost basis of that asset?  $4284

 

- What is the total sales price as shown on your sales contract.  $699,000

 

Carl
Level 15

Sale of Rental Property HELL

Since you sold at a gain, you just have to allocate your sales price to show a gain on all assets. Doesn't matter if that can is $1 on some assets, and $100,000 on other assets. A gain, is a gain, is a gain. Period. That way all prior depreciation will be recaptured and taxed as ordinary income, instead of potentially being taxed at the higher capital gains tax rate. Also, to add clarity I'm going to assume sales expenses of $10,000.

First, figure the cost of the structure by subtracting the cost of land from the total cost.

COST:                   $559,825 

COST OF LAND $198,698

STRUCTURE:       $361,127

Now divvy up the sales price. since cost of land is 35% of the total sales price, I'm allocating 35% of the sales price to the land. The rest gets divvied up between the structure and roof, and is done in a way to show a gain on each of those assets.

LAND Cost: 198,698      Sales Price: $244,650     Sales Expenses $3,000

STRUCTURE cost: $361,127     Sales Price : 449,000     Sales Expenses $,7000

ROOF cost: $4,284     Sales Price: $5,350    Sales Expenses $0

Note that the total sales price of each asset comes to $699,000 as it should.

Gain on the land is $42,952 (244,650 minus $3,000, minus $198.698)

Gain on the structure is $80,873 (449,000 minus $7,000, minus $361.127)

Gain on the roof is $1,066 ($5,350 minus $4,284)

Note my sales expenses are claimed only on the land and structure. There's no need to allocate the sales expenses further, as once they're claimed between the land and structure, you're done. Allocating sales expneses further will not change your SEC1250 gain at all.

Note also that I have not included the recaptured depreciation here, since I don't know how much depreciation you've taken. But it doesn't matter since depreciation recapture is taxed separately. while the gain shown on each asset is taxed at capital gain rates, recaptured depreciation is taxed as ordinary income and the tax on it will not exceed 25%. (recaptured depreciation is taxed anywhere from 0% to a maximum of 25%)

 

 

Sale of Rental Property HELL

Ok ... a simple example of ratios ...  if you have more assets than the example then you will have more lines.  Remember if you divide a big number into a littler number you get a % ...  thus 5000/10000 = 5%

 

       original  cost basis          ratios                  Sales price             cost of sale 

home    80000                   80%                          160,000               8,000

land       15000                   15%                           30,000                 1,500

roof        5000                        5%                           10,000                   500 

totals     100,000                100%                        200,000               10,000

 

All you need to enter into the program is the % of sales price & % of cost of sale for each asset ... IGNORE the depreciation taken as it is immaterial for the sales of the assets. 

Carl
Level 15

Sale of Rental Property HELL

IGNORE the depreciation

Yes, in the sense it doesn't come into direct play when allocating the sales price.

However, if you were to allocate your sales price across the land and structure only, and give s sales price of $0 to the other assets, your gain will still come out the same.  However, the un-recaptured depreciation will be included in that gain and taxed at the capital gains tax rate. A rate that will potentially be higher than having the recaptured depreciation taxed at the ordinary income rate.

 

Sale of Rental Property HELL

I missed that one; the long-term capital gains rate is capped at 20% while the tax rate for unrecaptured Section 1250 gain is capped at 25%.

Sale of Rental Property HELL

Thanks for this input.  I'm sorting through it now.  I just realized I did not mention that I have a fully depreciated dishwasher ($399) that is also listed in TT as an asset.  So i have a Roof and a Dishwasher.  

 

Do I do the same formula ?  Or is this handled differently.

Thank again for your assistance.  Much appreciated.  

Sale of Rental Property HELL

You can use the same formula.

Sale of Rental Property HELL

Everything on the asset list (even fully depreciated items) need to be sold ... if they are fully depreciated then you could use a zero for the sale price/cost of sale to create a zero overall entry on the 4797. 

 

Ok ... a simple example of ratios ...  if you have more assets than the example then you will have more lines.  Remember if you divide a big number into a littler number you get a % ...  thus 5000/10000 = 5%

 

       original  cost basis          ratios                  Sales price             cost of sale 

home    80000                   80%                          160,000               8,000

land       15000                   15%                           30,000                 1,500

roof        5000                        5%                           10,000                   500 

totals     100,000                100%                        200,000               10,000

Sale of Rental Property HELL

You guys are the best.  Using your advice I am finally comfortable with my entries and everything looks great.

 

One last question (haha... i hope..)

 

I put in a stone patio ($5k for which i have an invoice) in my rental property about 10 years ago but I never included it in TT.   Can I include the cost of the patio in my cost basis for the structure?  If so, what about any depreciation that I didn't take for 10 years?  Any advice here is appreciated greatly.   thanks again.  

ThomasM125
Expert Alumni

Sale of Rental Property HELL

You can include it in the cost basis for the structure. However, you must reduce the cost by depreciation that could have been claimed on it to arrive at your adjusted basis when you want to dispose of the asset.

 

You can amend your tax return going back three years to claim the missing deprecation for those years only. Your other option is to use Form 3115 Application for change in Accounting Method to deduct all of your back deprecation on your current year tax return. The 481(a) adjustment is in Part IV of the form. You will need the desktop version of TurboTax to complete form 3115.

 

About form 3115

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