The taxable value probably does not indicate the value of the land based on your statements.
If you do not have any information to determine land value, the IRS auditor will not have any information either.
Percentage allocation is one way to make a decision.
If your personality is aggressive, you may want to allocate 80% of the value to the building and 20% of the value to the land. If your personality is conservative, you may want to allocate 60% of the value to the building and 40% of the land.
Separating cost of land and buildings. If you buy buildings and your cost includes the cost of the land on which they stand, you must divide the cost between the land and the buildings to figure the basis for depreciation of the buildings. The part of the cost that you allocate to each asset is the ratio of the fair market value of that asset to the fair market value of the whole property at the time you buy it.
If you are not certain of the fair market values of the land and the buildings, you can divide the cost between them based on their assessed values for real estate tax purposes.
Example.
You buy a house and land for $200,000. The purchase contract does not specify how much of the purchase price is for the house and how much is for the land.
The latest real estate tax assessment on the property was based on an assessed value of $160,000, of which $136,000 was for the house and $24,000 was for the land.
You can allocate 85% ($136,000 ÷ $160,000) of the purchase price to the house and 15% ($24,000 ÷ $160,000) of the purchase price to the land.
Your basis in the house is $170,000 (85% of $200,000) and your basis in the land is $30,000 (15% of $200,000).
I’ve included a link to the IRS website for your reference: Click here for
Residential Rental Property information.
