Tax deductible house searching?

[David C.]

Tax Deduction Question:

Taking a long road trip to Iowa to look at properties to purchase for rental this weekend. Wife and kid in tow, we have some family to see there, but most of time will be for looking at property.

Is this a tax deductible ‘business travel’ expense if claiming before ownership?

What if i decide against buying so no ownership in future to show for the effort?

Can i claim in 2019 TR even if I don’t purchase until 2020?

Thank you, BP brains.

[Ashish Acharya]

Originally posted by @David C.:

Tax Deduction Question:

Taking a long road trip to Iowa to look at properties to purchase for rental this weekend. Wife and kid in tow, we have some family to see there, but most of time will be for looking at property.

Is this a tax deductible ‘business travel’ expense if claiming before ownership?

What if i decide against buying so no ownership in future to show for the effort?

Can i claim in 2019 TR even if I don’t purchase until 2020?

Thank you, BP brains.

If you have identified the property and are making a trip for due diligence or close,  then you can add the actual business expense to the basis of the property if you buy it. If this is just the search trip for various properties then this cannot be deducted/capitalized.