Offset W2 Taxes With rental losses

[Andrew Thomas Vedder]

My W2 income is 160K. I have a primary residence. I want to buy another home, move into that one, then rent out my current home. 

If my PITI is $2200, and rents in the area are $1800, can I use any of the $400 loss to offset my W2 income?

What else can I write off from my W2 income once I start to rent out my home? 

Thank you 

[Glen Wiley]

Talk to a real CPA who knows real estate.

A vacation rental is taxed differently than a long term rental. For the vacation rental you must meet participation criteria. For the long term rental you must be a real estate professional to take losses from passive investments against your active income (IRS label that just needs 750 hrs/year or more of real estate activity to qualify). My wife is the REP for us since one other test is that you can't spend more hours on your active job than on the real estate (full time employment is 2000 hrs / year).