And when her lease expires deduct $200 from her damage deposit.

Not at all sure if this is doable but I am looking for ways to lower the transfer taxes and create a larger tax deduction.

Keep in mind you no longer have that interest tax deduction.

And the IRS really doesn't like tax deductions, much less those that don't accomplish their stated objective.

I am taking deductions for everything including travel (relatively local) and meals, plus the obvious like repairs, cleaning, etc.When I do my taxes, I am seeing that my itemized deductions are slightly less than my Standard Deduction.I gross about $125K., I have my 401K maxed out.I have a very modest positive cash flow on both properties, but less now since I have no tax reduction.Assuming I have done my taxes properly, this means that the miracle of a "real gain" but a "paper loss" is not working for me.

What ever you decide to charge the tenant for, I suggest you document it clearly and send them an invoice explaining all the deductions and the cost of repair including materials and labor and keep a copy for yourself.

If any one of the three tenants remained in the property past the date of termination, and you served a legal notice for them to vacate by a certain date and they did not, then you could file a lawsuit for unlawful detainer (by the way, this term is not used in all states) and the legitimate legal fees you incur could be deducted from the security deposit.

How about medicare, medaid, FICA, SS and all other payments that usually get deducted from employees paychecks ?

Buy a high deductible if you're not that worried and can come out of pocket if something were to happen.One other thought: Make sure you buy enough insurance.

I'd just keep track of all the damage they do to your property (take pictures, write down everything that happens), then deduct it from their security deposit when they've vacated.