Yes, you can skip all those entries and figure out the basis on a sheet of paper and enter the total, provided your basis is lower than the fair market value. Please see the IRS information below.
Per
Publication 527 - IRS.gov Chapter 4, pages 15-16
Basis of Property
Changed to Rental Use
When you change property you held for personal
use to rental use (for example, you rent
your former home), the basis for depreciation
will be the
lesser of fair market value or
adjusted
basis on the date of conversion.
Fair market value. This is the price at which
the property would change hands between a
willing buyer and a willing seller, neither having
to buy or sell, and both having reasonable
knowledge of all the relevant facts. Sales of
similar property, on or about the same date,
may be helpful in figuring the fair market value
of the property.
Figuring the basis. The basis for depreciation
is the lesser of:
- The fair market value of the property on the
date you changed it to rental use; or
- Your adjusted basis on the date of the
change—that is, your original cost or other
basis of the property, plus the cost of permanent
additions or improvements since
you acquired it, minus deductions for any
casualty or theft losses claimed on earlier
years' income tax returns and other decreases
to basis.
- For other increases and
decreases to basis, see Adjusted Basis in
chapter 2.
-
Example. You originally built a house for
$140,000 on a lot that cost you $14,000, which
you used as your home for many years. Before
changing the property to rental use this year,
you added $28,000 of permanent improvements
to the house and claimed a $3,500 casualty
loss deduction for damage to the house.
Part of the improvements qualified for a $500
residential energy credit, which you claimed on
a prior year tax return. Because land isn’t depreciable,
you can only include the cost of the
house when figuring the basis for depreciation.
The adjusted basis of the house at the time
of the change in its use was $164,000
($140,000 + $28,000 ? $3,500 ? $500).
On the date of the change in use, your property
had a fair market value of $168,000, of
which $21,000 was for the land and $147,000
was for the house.
The basis for depreciation on the house is
the fair market value on the date of the change
($147,000) because it is less than your adjusted
basis ($164,000).
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