Find primary residence cost and depreciation details

[kric]

I can review my rental property costs and depreciation details but I can't seem to find this for my primary residence in TurboTax if someone can help.

[kric]

ah, thanks

[MarilynG · Accepted solution]

You don't depreciate your primary residence.

[DonPayne]

We have a home office in our primary residence, and TT Home & Business 2018 Tax Guidance pop-up window says:

"Why Do I Have to Depreciate My Home Office?
In the IRS' eyes, you depreciate your home office whether you claim depreciation on your tax return or not. So you might as well depreciate it and receive the tax benefit of doing so."

And it is asking for purchase price & date, etc. in order to calculate that.

[Carl]

Home office for what? Your W-2 job? A SCH C business you own? Some other type of business you own? It matters, as that determines where you will find the depreciation stuff. It also matters in what tax year you started claiming a home office, and if you elected to take the "standard deduction" for the home office in lieu of depreciation and expenses.

[DonPayne]

It's a home office for my spouse's self-employed business, reported on Schedule C.

We began claiming it in 2010.

We took the "simplified" or standard home-office deduction in 2016 and 2017. Other years and this year, we took the more detailed itemized deduction with depreciation and expenses.

[Carl]

Depreciation for that portion of your primary residence that is business use as a home office is on IRS Form 4562 that is a part of the SCH C. So there are two form 4562's for that SCH C and they both print in landscape format. To see/access/print them you *have* to select the option to save everything in PDF format. Not just the forms for your records or the forms required to filing. Elect to save everything.

Then open the PDF and look for the 4562's with the SCH C. Again, they both print in landscape format. One is titled "Amortization and Depreciation Report" and is more than likely the one that matters here. The other is titled "Alternative Minimum Tax Depreciation" and unless your income is really, really high that one will have all zeros for depreciation taken and therefore would not matter to you.

The 4562 form itself is only filed with the IRS:

 - In the first year you begin depreciation of an asset or;

 - You add, remove, sell or otherwise dispose of an asset, or do anything else that will cause a change to a listed asset.