Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 15 posts · 0 votes
Hi All,
I finally bit the bullet and bought a house which will serve as my primary residence. Instead of a fixer, I ended up with something done which I hope to hold onto for 5-7 years while property values in Austin continue to rise.
I have a room mate who will move in and pay rent. He will also watch the property for me/ help maintain it while I travel (often for weeks at a time).
The question I have what expenses (utilities, maintenance, updates, etc) can I deduct if I have a room mate and what portion of the total expenses can I deduct?
Room mate will have his own room, but will have equal use of all other rooms (ex the master) in the house.
Real Estate Agent/Property Management · Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 827 votes
10y
You can only deduct prorated expenses based on the area that you are renting. So if the rented room equals 15% of the entire square feet of the house, you can deduct 15% of household expenses, like utility bills.
I finally bit the bullet and bought a house which will serve as my primary residence. Instead of a fixer, I ended up with something done which I hope to hold onto for 5-7 years while property values in Austin continue to rise.
I have a room mate who will move in and pay rent. He will also watch the property for me/ help maintain it while I travel (often for weeks at a time).
The question I have what expenses (utilities, maintenance, updates, etc) can I deduct if I have a room mate and what portion of the total expenses can I deduct?
Room mate will have his own room, but will have equal use of all other rooms (ex the master) in the house.
Does this mean I can deduct 50% of all expenses?
Thanks in advance for your help.
-Jeff
The whole thing is calculated and then you will deduct the percentage in this case 50% assuming he actually uses it.
Otherwise by the sq ft of the room versus the sq footage of the whole house including basement.