5 High-Value Tax Deductions Real Estate Investors Shouldn’t Miss
Investing in real estate can be a great way to make some extra money or even support your long-term financial well-being into retirement, but it’s also a costly venture. Those in the know, however, understand that they can offset many of expenses associated with real estate investing through tax deductions. From mortgage interest to repairs, there are many accepted deductions for savvy property owners.
Do you know what deductions you should be taking on your properties? Here are five high-value deductions you don’t want to miss out on.
5 High-Value Tax Deductions Real Estate Investors Shouldn’t Miss
1. Interest Paid on the Mortgage
Very few real estate investors have the capital on hand to purchase properties without taking out a mortgage, and you shouldn’t be penalized for that. That’s why it’s an accepted financial practice to deduct interest paid on the mortgage on your taxes. If you pay any part of the utilities for your rental properties, you can also deduct those costs.
2. Depreciation
There are two kinds of depreciation that factor into you tax deductions as a real estate investor. One form of depreciation is depreciation on the property itself.
Although properties are typically perceived as increasing in value, this is typically due to improvements expressly made by the owner. Left alone, residential properties depreciate over 27.5 years and commercial ones over 30 years. You can write off depreciation—but you’ll have to pay for some of it in the form of depreciation recapture taxes when you sell the property.
Related: Property Depreciation: Why the Tax Benefits Could Come Back to Bite You
The other form of depreciation that impacts property owners is less significant, but it’s still a write-off. This is depreciation affecting major purchases made to run your real estate business—think computers, vehicles, and other major purchases for business use. Typically, you have the choice to write off the purchase all at once or to calculate the depreciation over several years.
3. Business Travel
Here’s the thing about traveling as a real estate owner. There are some forms of travel that are relevant write-offs and others that might be more of a stretch. In general, the rule when it comes to deductions is that all deductions have to be ordinary and necessary for your business. Thus, something that constitutes a standard deduction in one field might not be acceptable in another.
Turning to the topic of travel, then, it would be considered ordinary and necessary to deduct travel to and from properties. This is a vital part of managing them—it’s the cost of doing business, and your taxes should reflect that. On the other hand, traveling to a conference that’s only tangentially related to your work but feeds a particular curiosity or a separate idea for a non-existent business wouldn’t make the cut according to the IRS. Interest isn’t cause enough.
4. Repairs
Unsurprisingly, repairs are absolutely classed as ordinary and necessary expenses in the world of real estate. As such, you can deduct the cost of any repairs and improvements you make to properties.
In one way, it’s interesting that you can write off not-quite-necessary improvements; you can deduct the cost of adding a room or installing a pool at a property, for example. This may seem above and beyond compared to repairing damages or even replacing out of date appliances.
At the same time, performing upgrades and renovations contributes to the increased value of your business, so it’s really just the cost of doing business in a competitive marketplace.
Related: Why Investing in Real Estate Just for the Tax Breaks Can Be Unwise (& Downright Dangerous)
5. Legal Expenses
Finally, you can deduct any legal expenses you incur as part of managing your real estate investments—and we don’t just mean getting contracts drawn up. If you spend enough time dealing with properties, you’re eventually going to come up against some pretty tricky figures, whether it’s downright property thieves or simply tenants who fall behind on rent and drag out the eviction process. Writing off the costs of dealing with these issues won’t make them less painful, but it’s a small bit of relief.
Real estate investing isn’t an easy business. It takes significant capital, a lot of research, and continuous diligence to deal with both the property and the other people involved. Cut yourself a (financial) break along the way and make sure you’re claiming all your tax write-offs. It’s the least you can do.
