Question: How can I enter a real estate property that is partly rental income and partly personal use?
Answer: The software is designed to handle real estate property that is partly rental income and partly personal use.
Here are some things to know:
Rental income.
1. Say "yes" to the yes/no question at the top of the Real Estate Details ("more info") ("more info") screen asking if this is a rental income property.
2. Enter rental income, if any. If none, enter zero.
Mortgage(s)
Part, but not all, of the mortgage will be allocable to the rental use, and the rest will be allocable to personal use.
You specify this in answer to the question about how much of the mortgage is allocable to the rental activity.
For example, if 60% of the property is rented out and 40% is personal space, you would specify that 60% of the mortgage would be allocable to the rental activity.
Rental expenses
There are two ways to enter rental expenses.
1. Direct entry of total. You can total them outside the software and enter the total on the rental expenses line in the Rental Property Information section. Or...
2. Enter line-by-line (shown below).
If you have checked this option, then you will also have an option to say that the expenses you enter are allocable to the rental income property. The checkbox for this option is located directly above the section where you enter the rental expenses, as shown below.
If you check this box to count these as Rental expenses, then 100% of the expenses you enter will count as being allocable to the rental income property. (The allocation between the parties will be as you specify on each line of the expense section.)
In the case where the property is partly rental and partly personal use, the best thing to do about expenses is this:
1. Do *not* check the box to allocate the line-by-line expenses to the rental property.
2. Outside the software, total the expenses that are allocable to the rental. Enter this total in the Rental Property Information section.
3. Enter just the expenses allocable to the personal use in the line-by-line expense section.