BRRRR Property - Tax Question

[Scott Welch]

Hey BP!

I am hoping someone might be able to help or point me in the right direction on a tax question. I purchased my first BRRRR property in late October 2020. It needed quite an extensive rehab (~60k) and we will be finishing the rehab this coming week, then my property manager will be working to get the place rented ASAP. I was starting to complete my taxes for 2020 and my question is since I did not actually rent the property at all in 2020 should I report it as a rental property on my taxes or would I wait until my 2021 tax returns once I have rental income? I also want to make sure that the rehab cost is added to the cost basis of the property and wasn't sure if I needed to report the capital improvements on my tax return for 2020 to make sure this happens. Any advice is welcome and thank you in advance!