Can I Deduct My New Laptop?

[Alex Nelson]

Hi Guys,

I thought I remembered hearing that if you purchase a laptop that will be used for investing, that you can write this off as a tax deduction as long as it is used primarily for investing purposes. I have just purchased a laptop recently because I did not have a functioning one previously. I use it to look up properties, run numbers, and access my Cozy to manage my rental. Am i able to deduct this from my taxes?

Side question - I am on my first property now and am almost done with the renovation. I did collect one months rent from the previous tenant before they moved out and i started my renovation, but since then i have not collected any rent from the property as it is in the renovation phase. Does this cause any problems with taxes if i'm writing off most of what I'm spending for the renovation? I'm worried that since it hasn't been rented out for a majority of the time I've owned it and because I do not have any other investment properties currently, that i will not qualify as "an investor".

thanks you for any input that you can give!

[Michael Plaks]

@Eamonn McElroy

@Eamonn McElroy is technically correct. 

Whether you want to be technically correct on relatively small items that are immaterial for your overall tax situation is your decision. In my 20+ years of experience in defending clients audited by the IRS, the IRS has never questioned 100% business use of computers. One time they objected to 100% cell phone use. 

I'm NOT suggesting that you should ignore the tax rules. I'm suggesting that some decisions are not worth deliberations, one way or another. A $500 computer may result in a $100 tax savings. Claiming it as being used 50% v. 75% is a $25 decision.