When a landlord turns a rental property over to us, we’ll get started immediately with procuring a tenant and managing their property. At that point, we suggest that the landlord also contact their Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or tax preparer to ensure that they understand how their decisions regarding their rental property will impact their tax profile.
It is important that landlords understand which of their expenses will be tax deductible and which expenses will need to be depreciated over time. As some of the questions regarding limits on tax write-offs are dependent upon the rest of a landlord’s financial picture, only a tax professional can discuss tax implications and discuss strategies to maximize the financial benefits of owning an investment property. For long term planning purposes it is also important that landlords understand the requirement to live in the home for 2 of the last 5 years if they intend to take advantage of the capital gains exception.
For landlords who have prepared their own taxes prior to becoming an investor and do not yet have a CPA or tax preparer, we are happy to provide a recommendation to a local CPA with significant experience with landlord tax law.
