topic State depreciation differences from federal depreciation differences in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

State depreciation differences from federal depreciation differences

KASinOR — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 17:22:26 GMT

In trying to complete my state taxes, I am getting stopped on a page which is asking me for the the differences in the state depreciation from the federal depreciation for the rental apartment in the basement of my home. It has a number of fields that I can't answer, including

-- "Depreciation Method," in which the choices are: 200% declining balance, 150% declining balance, declining balance, straight line, various and MACRS. (I believe the accountant I hired last year to do my taxes used the straight line method, since one sheet reads method SL.)

-- "Useful Life (months)." Would this be 27.5 years x 12? No idea what it refers to

-- "State Prior Depreciation taken." I have no idea what the prior depreciation taken was and I do not see any reference to it on my previous year tax form

-- "Depreciation for 2017." Again, how do I know, other than the amount Turbotax already calculated for the federal depreciation?

Hi there, here are some further clarifications that may h...

VanL — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 17:22:27 GMT

Hi there, here are some further clarifications that may help you:

Depreciation method - should be straightline because it's a residential rental

Useful life = 27.5 years x 12 months (residential property)

State Prior Depreciation taken - should be the same as the federal for most states because there is no accelerated rate for this type of asset

Depreciation for 2017 - should be the same as federal - also should be the same as last year if you also rented the unit out the whole year in 2016.

Thanks very much. Since it was all a bit opaque, I ended...

KASinOR — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 17:22:28 GMT

Thanks very much. Since it was all a bit opaque, I ended up assuming that everything was the same as federal, and just submitted it. My state's own on-line instructions on depreciation of real estate wasn't much help at all. But I appreciate your response.