Timing of Expense Accounting

[tbra17]

Need advice on which tax year to log an expense. We formed an LLC in Aug 2020 and purchased a family property and are in the process of building a cabin on it. We paid a deposit to the builder in Nov 2020 using funds from a personal savings account. In Jan 2021 we contributed $XXXX to the LLC for the total cabin build. In Feb 2021 we reimbursed our savings account for the deposit.  If we log the deposit expense in 2020, there's a decent loss for the year. If we log the expense in 2021, when we reimbursed ourselves, 2020 year end has a profit (from rental income). As a single-entity LLC we carry profit/loss to our personal return. We'd prefer the loss to offset other income. Do we log this expense when it occurred (2020) or when the money was removed from the LLC for reimbursement (2021)?

[M-MTax]

You've got a lot going on here so you should get a tax pro.....but you don't report deposits at the exact time they are made. At some point the members would contribute either dollars or property or both to the LLC and go from there. If the members are not just you and your spouse and if it is you don't live in a community property state then you have to file a 1065 and issue K-1s.