Can you carry over tax reduction to next year for a rental proper

[Sam Li]

Hi, folks. I am a new investor and I got a rental property in Texas. I did not rent it out last year since I got it in Dec. I've some cost incurred in 2020 such as loan points, agent fee for finding a tenant, etc, so my cash-flow in 2020 is negative for this property. 

1. Can the cost in 2020 be carried over to 2021 to deduct the rent I get in 2021? 

2. If the answer for question#1 is yes. Do I have to report this property for 2020 tax return so that the cost can be carried over? Or even if I did not mention it at all in my 2020 tax return, I can carry over the cost for my 2021 tax return?

Thanks

Sam

[Sam Li]

@Bill Hampton Thanks Bill. I do plan to do that for the incoming year. For 2020 though, my case is relatively simple. For your suggestion, since I don't plan to report any income from the rental property, I assume here is nothing I can write off since it cannot be negative for non-real-estate-professionals. In such case, can I simply not report anything this year and carry it over next year for the expense of 2021?