topic Re: Deduction of hot tub if bought 1 year before renta in Investors & landlords

Deduction of hot tub if bought 1 year before renta

Tehaleonie — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 10:23:13 GMT

I built a deck and bought a hot tub in December 2023 on my primary residence at that time. I started a short term rental on that property in 2024. Can I deduct the hot tub and deck (for the hot tub) from my tax deductions in 2024 for the rental property?

Re: Deduction of hot tub if bought 1 year before renta

M-MTax — Sun, 04 Aug 2024 22:10:01 GMT

Can I deduct the hot tub and deck (for the hot tub) from my tax deductions in 2024 for the rental property?

No. You take the cost of the hot tub and deck and add the total to your basis in the property and then take depreciation deductions based on that total over 27.5 years.

Example: Hot tub plus deck = $10,000 plus basis for depreciation of the property = amount you depreciate over 27.5 years and NOTE that your basis for depreciation will be the lesser of your adjusted cost basis OR the FMV on the date you converted the property to rental use.

Re: Deduction of hot tub if bought 1 year before renta

Tehaleonie — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 14:26:45 GMT

Thank you! But, is it still possible even though I bought the hot tub in December of 2023 and didn't start renting the place out until midway through 2024?

Re: Deduction of hot tub if bought 1 year before renta

M-MTax — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 16:59:24 GMT

You can add the cost to your basis in the property but then you have to use the lesser of your adjusted basis in the property or the FMV on the date of conversion to rental use.

Re: Deduction of hot tub if bought 1 year before renta

Opus 17 — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 20:39:33 GMT

@Tehaleonie wrote:

Thank you! But, is it still possible even though I bought the hot tub in December of 2023 and didn't start renting the place out until midway through 2024?

What you want to do is break out a complete list of assets that are rented along with the house (any property that has an expected life of more than one year). One asset is the house, of course. Its basis for depreciation is your original cost, or the fair market value, whichever is less, minus the value of the land. The house depreciates over 27.5 years.

Other assets might be the stove, refrigerator, washer, dryer, hot tub, or larger furniture items. Each item can be listed separately as an asset to be depreciated. The basis for depreciation is your cost, or the fair market value on the day it was place into service as a rental, whichever is less. (The value of a used washer, used dryer, 6 month old hot tub, etc.). Those property items will depreciate over 7 or 10 years, in most cases, depending on what the item is. (For various reasons, the benefit of listing items with a new price under $2500 may not be worth the extra paperwork.)

Now, for short term rentals, does that mean you will be living in the home for personal use more than 14 days per year? If this is something like an Air BNB, where the property is always listed as an active rental but not always occupied, that;s fine in general, but if you live in the home as your personal residence more than 14 days of the year, the rental calculations get more complicated.

Re: Deduction of hot tub if bought 1 year before renta

M-MTax — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 22:06:53 GMT

More than the greater of 14 days or 10 percent of the number of days during the year that the unit is rented at FMV. So if you rent it for 300 days at FMV you can use it for 30 days without it being a "residence".