Rental Property deductions

[Countingcat]

We purchased a property in January 2023.  It was rented for just over 6 months that year. After the family moved out July 2023, considerable renovations were necessary. These renovations were made from June til December of 2024. Can we expense/depreciate the expenses if no rent was collected in 2024? We were intending to sell the property by the end of 2024 but the buyer did not come through and now things are running into the new year.

[MaryK4]

You are able to deduct rental expenses if there was no rental income, but the property must have been "available for rent".  If you did not attempt to rent the property while you were waiting to sell it, you should not deduct the expenses.  From the IRS:

Vacant while listed for sale. If you sell property you held for rental purposes, you can deduct the ordinary and necessary expenses for managing, conserving, or maintaining the property until it is sold. If the property isn’t held out and available for rent while listed for sale, the expenses aren’t deductible rental expenses.