Should I hire a tax planner/advisor/preparer or DIY this?

[Pavel Bennett]

Hi BP,

I recently acquired my first property, which is a house in Hawaii where I'm renting a portion of it to a tenant. As the tax season is coming up, I'm starting to think if it's worthwhile to hire a tax planner (mostly going forward, as 2021 is nearly over) and tax preparer (same person?). I think I could handle the tax preparation myself, but I have some questions around how to divide up the house between the rented portion and my own, and how to depreciate some renovations I am doing before renting out more of the space. The property is in my name (no other entities).

Is there much value in having the tax planner be local to the state where the property is located, or anywhere in the US is fine? I'm fine with meeting remotely over a video call.

Also, where could I learn about what format to keep my records in so that they are easy to import/use by a CPA or by myself at tax time? Any recommended software for this? I'm talking about records like rent revenues, expenses, and depreciation schedules. I've been keeping detailed records so far in spreadsheets.

Thank you 🙂