If you change your home or other property, (or a part of it), to rental use at any time other than at the beginning of your tax year, you must divide yearly expenses, such as depreciation, taxes, and insurance, between rental use and personal use.

You can deduct as rental expenses only the part of the expense that is for the part of the year the property was used or held for rental purposes.

You cannot deduct depreciation or insurance for the part of the year the property was held for personal use. However, you can deduct the interest and tax expenses for the part of the year the property was held for personal use as an itemized deduction on Schedule A (Form 1040).

Example. Your tax year is a calendar year. You moved from your home in May and started renting it out on June 1. You can deduct as rental expenses seven-twelfths of your yearly expenses, such as taxes and insurance.

Starting with June, you can deduct as rental expenses, the amounts you pay for items generally billed monthly, such as utilities.

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Publication 17 | 1998 Tax Year Archives | Tax Help Archives | Home