Recapturing depreciation and filing taxes

[John Koontz]

My taxes are done each year by an attorney. When I got into rentals (we just closed on our 2nd SFR) the atty recommended we not depreciate the SFRs. His reasoning was that it wasn't worth having to recapture the depreciation unless we were sure we were going to hold onto them for a long time.

Based on the reading I've done, I'm getting the impression that we WILL have to recapture the depreciation regardless of whether we depreciate or not. Can anyone (specifically tax advisors or attorneys) confirm that this is the case? If so, I need to see about amending some tax returns. Or, if/when we sell, is there some statement or declaration we can make to the IRS and state treasury that we didn't depreciate?

Thanks for any input or advice.