Do I have to take Depreciation on my home rental properties every year?

[Psyblade]

I have a situation where real estate depreciation is putting my income well below zero.  This gives me no tax benefit, since I am already below zero, but I assume I will have to pay the recapture in the future when I sell the property.  Can I not take the depreciation this year since it offers no benefit and so I don't get hit with the recapture in the future?

[Anonymous_]

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@Psyblade wrote:

Can I not take the depreciation this year since it offers no benefit and so I don't get hit with the recapture in the future?

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No, the deduction is not really optional in the sense that recapture will apply to the extent the depreciation deduction was allowed or allowable. 

Therefore, even if you don't take the allowed deduction, the deductible amount that was allowable (but not taken by you) is subject to recapture.

[Mike9241]

yes you must take the appropriate depreciation each year. don't and your still subject to recapture on the depreciation you didn't take.

if your taxable income is negative what you may have is a net operating loss carryover/carryback. Turbotax does not compute this. you can use schedule A of form 1045 to do this. there are probably other sources for the worksheet. then you need to enter any carryforward manually in the following year's return. you may have to go back to previous open years to amend the returns for the NOL if it exists. if 2019 was not extended it is now a closed year so you can only amend 2020-2022

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1045.pdf