Generic tax question

[Raj Shah]

Hello everyone- need some tax advice and my accountant did not know the answer ( he does not do much real estate accounting). I have listed my home for rental- I lived in it for the last 5 years and have moved 6 months ago for work. It has been on the rental market for a couple of months. If this rental property remains listed but not rented, can I still deduct mortgage interest, property tax, operating expenses, operating expenses, depreciation and repairs etc... or does there have to be a renter occupying the property?

thanks for everyone's help!

[Bill B.]

Has it been vacant for 6 months? It’s going to be hard to convince me a properly advertised and priced property would remain empty in this market for 6 months. 

On top of that. You might currently be without insurance. If it’s a rental you should have switched the insurance from owner occupied to landlord policy and you should make sure you marked the appropriate box on your property tax form from the county to pay the higher taxes of non-owner occupied if appropriate. 

But my main concern is MANY insurance policies don’t cover losses when the property is vacant for more than 30 or 60 days. They fear what 3 months of what damage or frozen pipes, or broken windows could do to a property.