Are expenses looking for investment property deductable?

[Rick Grimsley]

We are in contract to buy a home with a rental apartment unit.  I spent money traveling to see the home in another state.  Are these expenses deductible after we complete the purchase?

[Linda Weygant]

Expenses incurred to search for a property are generally included in the basis of the property.  This applies any time you are searching in either a new geographic area to where you are currently investing, or looking at a different asset class.

For example, if you own residential rentals in Los Angeles, and go to Anaheim to look at residential rentals, that is the same general geographic region and also the same asset class, so those expenses may be immediately deductible so long as purchasing new properties is a usual and ordinary business activity for you.

But if you go look at commercial property in Anaheim, that is likely not immediately deductible since that is a new asset class for you.

Likewise, if you travel to Omaha or Cleveland or Raleigh, that's a new geographic area and that travel is not immediately deductible.

BUT - as soon as you buy that asset class or in that geographic area, you can tally up all your prior travel to that location and add the expense to the basis of the asset.