Write Off My Rental

Comments(10)

• 
  edmeyer11th August, 2005

  For residential properties the IRS allows a 27.5 year depreciation. For commercial properties it is 40 years.
  You can only depreciate improvements, not the land. So, if you purchase a property for $100,000 and declare that 80% of the value is in the buildings, then your annual depreciation is $80,000/27.5 = $2909.09 per year.

• 
  NewKidinTown28th August, 2005

  I guess you are referring to a self-directed IRA

• 
  InActive_Account8th August, 2005

  thanks !!

• 
  NewKidinTown210th August, 2005

  Your CPA is not the best informed person to discuss this. Instead, look for an IRA custodian that permits real estate investment in a self-directed account.
  
  Entrust is one such IRA custodial manager. You can find them on the web. Google "self-directed IRA" to get links you can explore further.

• 
  InActive_Account11th August, 2005

  Thanks guys. So much to learn ...

• 
  NewKidinTown21st August, 2005

  When youf car is your personal vehicle that you happen to use for business use some of the time, the repairs expenses are allocated between personal use and business use. This requires you to keep detailed logs of your use, your operating costs, and to claim the actual costs allocated for your business use.
  
  If the car is owned by the business and used exclusively for business purposes, then all of the costs associated with the vehicle are business expenses on your Schedule C (or your business income tax return).
  
  Most of us with a vehicle that is shared between personal use and business use just keep a mileage log for our business use. At tax time, we take a mileage expense allowance for the number of miles used for business purposes. In this case, the repair costs are personal expenses, but the mileage allowance does help.

• 
  adler8th August, 2005

  NewKid,
  
  question regarding that... what if I own a vehicle in my name, can I have an LLC pay my monthly payments, or my monthly lease, and have it as a write-off against the LLC? Or can I do this and have the LLC "reimburse" me?
  Thanks!

• 
  NewKidinTown210th August, 2005

  You can do anything you want within your accounting system.
  
  The IRS, however, will want to see that you have properly documented all your business use, tracked all your costs, and properly allocated your direct costs between non-deductible personal use and deductible business use before they will allow the business deduction.
  
  If your vehicle is not directly owned by your business and not used exclusively for your business, you are better off just keeping accurate mileage logs for your business use and taking the unreimbursed mileage allowance deduction on your personal tax return.[ Edited by NewKidinTown2 on Date 08/10/2005 ]

• 
  NewKidinTown210th August, 2005

  If there is not a legitimate business reason for taking an expense, the IRS auditor will disallow it.
  
  Ask your CPA for a professional opinion on the matter.

• 
  justincool12th August, 2005

  Yep if you use the car for pleasure purposes only, or nothing related to doing business, than repairs on the car are not deductible
  
  however if you use the car solely for business (example deliverying products, transportation), then yes those repairs are tax deductible