Should I delete a rental property that I still own from my taxes because it was vacant all of last year and I received no income. Can I write off the property taxes?

[ThomasM125]

You should delete the rental property, but make a note of the cost of the house and assets along with accumulated depreciation numbers, as you'll need them in the future if you sell the property or rent it out again.

You can deduct the property taxes as an itemized deduction, but it will only benefit you if you have enough in itemized deductions so that they are more than your standard deduction.

[Carl]

If you just delete the SCH E, then you will lose all of your PAL carry over losses and all of your depreciation history. You need to do one of two things.

1. If you were not actively trying to rent the property, you need to convert the property and all assets in the Assets/Depreciation section to personal use with an effective date of when you stopped trying to rent it. After your return is filed *AND* accepted by the IRS, you need to print out three documents and file them for future need.

  a. Two form 4562's that print in landscape format. One is titled "Depreciation and Amortization Report" and the other is "Alternative Minimum Tax Report".

 b. IRS Form 8582-Passive Activity Loss Limitations. If this document is not present in your completed and filed tax return, that just means you have no carry over losses.

You will need these forms when one of three things happens in your future.

 - You sell the property

 - You convert the property back to a rental.

 - You die.

If you were actively trying to rent the property the whole year, then you can leave it and still claim valid rental expenses (mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, repairs, etc.). The fact you would be reporting zero rental income just doesn't matter.