Originally posted by @Michael Lynch:
The deductibility of your full trip to your rental is not automatic; it depends on how many days you were there and how many were business days.
Thanks Michael.
I'm finding myself a little unsure of what to do. I had a very reputable RE tax firm quote me ~$1,700 to do my federal and state return, which seems high considering I am a w-2 employee, 1099 from a brokerage account and 2 duplexes.
To add to this, I spoke with another CPA in Houston and asked him several questions about deductions vs. depreciation regarding my properties. He told me that the home inspection is a lost expense and nothing can be done with it, same as the appraisal. However, this is different from what I have read online. The following is the order of my rental property search.
1) Home inspection on a duplex in Houston, but canceled the contract due to issues that came up
2) Home inspection on a duplex in PA. Again canceled the contract due to issues that came up
3) Home inspection on duplex in PA. Ended up closing on this property.
4) Home inspection on duplex in PA. Canceled the contract due to issues that came up
5) Home inspection on a duplex in PA. Closed on the property
From my understanding, the home inspection on property #1 is void because I switched markets and did not close on a property in Houston. Therefore this expense was "not a part" of purchasing a home in this market. Moving on, the home inspection for property 2 can be applied to the basis price of property 3, along with the home inspection and appraisal for property 3. Therefore, property 3's basis price would increase by both of these home inspections and the appraisal when I am depreciating the property. The same goes for property 4 and property 5. Is this correct?
If the above is correct, it again concerns me that this other CPA is not very familiar with RE tax and I should look for someone else. His quote was around ~$650 for my tax return.
Thanks for any help or advice. I have another lead on a CPA, which I came across on BP, but he is not in the Houston area. That is the only thing holding me back from going this route.