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Updated about 5 years ago on . Most recent reply
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Apartment depreciation cost basis : 0% land ?
This may seem like a silly question, but there is surprisingly very little literature that answers this question head-on : my spouse and I bought an apartment abroad, that we will rent out once we have put it in rentable condition. We would like to claim a depreciation on it, but it seems that there is no information regarding the division between the cost of the land and the cost of the apartment (because, well, it's a single apartment floating in the air). In theory, if I claim 100% of the cost basis as the price we paid for the apartment, the IRS could make the argument that there has just got to be SOME land underneath that apartment somewhere, and therefore I must have some part of it. But that just seems ridiculous, since there are about 100+ apartments sitting on a pretty modest piece of land. Anyone have any success getting 100% of the cost basis as the sticker price for the apartment ? Thanks in advance.
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@Samuel Kowalsky look at your property tax bill it will generally have a breakdown for you. If your property does not, try looking up some SFRs in the area to see if they have the breakdown to verify. This is just a guide always talk to a tax pro to confirm for sure.