The Standard Deduction exceeds Itemization
I have 2 rental properties. I have mortgages on each and am depreciating each. 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. This hasn't reduced my taxes a bit.
Any thoughts?
p.s. - Yes, if you look you'll see my post from last year challenging whether one should ignore tax consequences when calculating calculating cash flow. Irony noted. Lesson learned, make it a Quick Tip, let's move on :)