Sold my rental condominium (~15 years in service) - DO I NEED FORM 3115 ?

[Anthony Chan]

Hello all - Long story but any help would be much appreciated.

• I purchased a small 1B/1Ba condominium in a high rise building in 2004 for personal use.

• In 2010, I moved out and decided to put in in service as a rental unit.

• I was able to keep it well occupied and leased throughout 2024.

• I sold the condo unit in late 2024 for a nominal profit.

That brings us to today. 

I'm trying to line up my docs/files for completing my tax return. Historically used online software without much issue.

Now that I'm looking at the settlement statements from 2004 and looking at a sizeable depreciation recapture hit, I came across a number of questions / issues:

1) I believe in 2010 I incorrectly set my basis (I did not include the parking space and upgrades to the units - granite, flooring, etc.). So instead of an actual basis of around $216,000, I was using $170,000. Based on 27.5 yr straight line depreciation, that's about $1,700 of missed annual depreciation; $25,000 over 15 years - and at an ordinary tax rate of say 30% tax could amount to $7,500 off my current tax bill. Can I get this back with IRS form 3115?

2) I know that you cannot depreciate land. But how do you determine the underlying land basis for a condominium? Go off the % allocated via the county assessor's determination of market value?

3) Special Assessments - Back in 2010 and 2012 there were some material special assessments totaling ~$10,000. Can I just add this to the initial basis?

So those are my issues. From googling, it would appear I need to hire a professional. For any CPAs out there, what would sorting through this and completing a 3115 cost today?

If not, does anyone think I can tackle this on my own?

If you've made it this far, congratulations for having an amazing attn span. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Tony