topic Safe Harbor Statement on LLC Owned property in Investors & landlords

Safe Harbor Statement on LLC Owned property

PamGam — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 13:28:47 GMT

We bought a dishwasher for a rental house and would like to use a Safe Harbor, so we don't have to set up depreciation on it. I read that, if the rental property is owned by an LLC, then the LLC must make the election. We do have the property in an LLC, but because myself & my husband are the only two members (in community property state), the LLC is disregarded for tax purposes. We always file on our personal joint form.

I have completed my 1040, but when I type up the Safe Harbor statement, do I use the LLC's name and EIN number or do we use our names and SSNs to match the 1040? (We have an EIN number so we could have the bank account in the LLC name, so it was required by the bank. However, we have never used it for tax purposes.)

Has anyone else run into this 'issue'?

Thanks for your help on this.

Re: Safe Harbor Statement on LLC Owned property

MaryK4 — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 04:49:09 GMT

You should use the LLC name/EIN because it is a disregarded entity. This is from the IRS website: "A single-member LLC that is a disregarded entity that does not have employees and does not have an excise tax liability does not need an EIN. It should use the name and TIN of the single member owner for federal tax purposes. However, if a single-member LLC, whose taxable income and loss will be reported by the single member owner needs an EIN to open a bank account or if state tax law requires the single-member LLC to have a federal EIN, then the LLC can apply for and obtain an EIN." (Single Member Limited Liability Companies - IRS)

Re: Safe Harbor Statement on LLC Owned property

PamGam — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 15:43:34 GMT

Thank you. I hope you can see why I was confused. It says to use the single owner's TIN number (SSN) for the return, but the Safe Harbor Statement info says to use the LLC name and number. As long as there is no confusion, I will continue to file on my personal number, but will use the LLC name and EIN for the statement that will be attached to the return. Thanks @MaryK4

Re: Safe Harbor Statement on LLC Owned property

PamGam — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 18:28:37 GMT

So, @mary, I realized I left out the part that we live in a community property state, so our LLC is considered the same as a SMLLC and is disregarded as LLC. This makes a huge difference in reporting.

"The IRS has issued a special rule applicable to LLCs owned by married couples who live in community property states. Under this rule, a married couple can treat their jointly owned business as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes if:

the LLC is wholly owned by the husband and wife as community property under state law
no one else would be considered an owner for federal tax purposes, and
the business is not otherwise treated as a corporation under federal law.

In most cases, this would mean that the spouses would file a joint tax return (with the general tax savings that come with such a return), and include with that return a Schedule C, and any other relevant schedules (Schedule SE, Schedule E, and so on), for their business. For all practical (tax) purposes, they would prepare their taxes as though their LLC were an SMLLC. This includes same-sex couples who are legally married under state law."

Since, our LLC is looked upon as a SMLLC and is disregarded as a multi-member LLC for tax purposes, we have always filed jointly using the Schedule C (and whatever else forms we needed for the tax year). I found something on intuit, but can't find it right now, that basically states the same as above and mentions just using the SSN's of the taxpayers, so our statement of de minimis is going to have the same tax payer info as the return.

Thanks @MaryK4 for your help-sorry I wasn't clearer from the start.