Tax Deductions on a House Hack before Roommate is found.

[Asish Balu]

Hey everyone,

Just bought my very first property in the Baltimore area. It's a 2B1B and I will be living in one bedroom while renting out the other.

To my knowledge, I can't deduct expenses related to my personal bedroom. For expenses relating to the room I'm renting, I can deduct 100% of the expenses. For expenses related to the common areas, I can deduct 50% of the expenses since I would occupy 50% of the house.

First of all, just wanted to make sure is this information is correct?

Second, can I deduct pre-roommate expenses such as:

- Home inspection

- Advertising the rental

- Appraisal fees

- etc.

My guess is that I can deduct anything directly related to renting the place (such as advertising and background checks), BUT I cannot deduct things like home inspection and appraisal fees which are unrelated to renting.

Is my line of thinking correct? House hacking definitely complicates my tax situation, and I want to make sure I'm getting the best refund I can. If you could point me to some guides/resources that go over house hacking taxes in detail, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you!