Rental tax preparation - is this a legal expense?

[mb1111]

TurboTax asks me if I had any legal and professional tax expenses relating to my rental property. Well, I had a Tax Pro/accountant file my taxes last year and I had my rental property then so... does that make it a yes? (Note: I had other income besides my rental property so it wasn't just for the rental property.)

[MichaelMc]

Yes. The portion of your tax preparation fees paid for Schedule E and related worksheets can be taken as an expense of managing your rental property. Similarly, if you were self-employed, the amounts paid to prepare Schedule C and its related worksheets would be a business expense. most accountants will be willing to provide a detail of their charges for these schedules.

The cost of preparing Form 1040 and its schedules related to your personal income tax, exclusive of the situations described above, cannot be taken as either business or rental expense. If your itemize deductions, general tax preparation fees can be included as a miscellaneous itemized deduction.