IRS Form 3115 for changing from no depreciation to depreciation

Member since 2019 · 1 post · 0 votes

We need to fill out From 3115 as depreciation was not claimed for five years on our property. Besides having a CPA do our entire taxes is there assistance with just this form anyone knows of?

0 Reply

13 views

Most Popular Reply

Linda WeygantPro Member

Investor and CPA · Arvada, CO · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes

Most CPAs will not prepare just one form. It's all or nothing because the ways the forms flow into one another are highly dependent on each other. Your 3115 will flow through to the Schedule E which then may or may not flow into an 8582 and all of that has to be checked and reviewed to make sure everything came together properly. This is way before you start then figuring out how much of that is eligible for the 199A exclusion.

Also, if you look at the instructions for the 3115, you'll note the following at the bottom:

Time Per Response

Recordkeeping ............... 60 hours, 1 minute

Learning ................... 16 hours, 25 minutes

Preparing .................. 20 hours

Sending ................... 32 minutes

While the IRS frequently overestimates the amount of time a mostly organized taxpayer takes to put together these forms, I think the above is actually not a horrible estimate for this particular form. A competent CPA who is used to working with these forms can get the recordkeeping and preparation down to about 1/4 - 1/5 that time, but the learning is no joke.

Getting a competent CPA on board for this is going to be in your best interest. Interview CPAs to find out how much experience they specifically have with the 3115. If they pause for a few minutes and you hear them furiously googling on their keyboard, go ahead and just hang up and move onto the next one.

Podcast Guest on Show #244

2 Reply

See this reply in the discussion

5 Replies

Jump to latestLatest

Sort by

Linda WeygantPro Member
Investor and CPA · Arvada, CO · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Most CPAs will not prepare just one form. It's all or nothing because the ways the forms flow into one another are highly dependent on each other. Your 3115 will flow through to the Schedule E which then may or may not flow into an 8582 and all of that has to be checked and reviewed to make sure everything came together properly. This is way before you start then figuring out how much of that is eligible for the 199A exclusion.
Also, if you look at the instructions for the 3115, you'll note the following at the bottom:
Time Per Response
Recordkeeping ............... 60 hours, 1 minute
Learning ................... 16 hours, 25 minutes
Preparing .................. 20 hours
Sending ................... 32 minutes
While the IRS frequently overestimates the amount of time a mostly organized taxpayer takes to put together these forms, I think the above is actually not a horrible estimate for this particular form. A competent CPA who is used to working with these forms can get the recordkeeping and preparation down to about 1/4 - 1/5 that time, but the learning is no joke.
Getting a competent CPA on board for this is going to be in your best interest. Interview CPAs to find out how much experience they specifically have with the 3115. If they pause for a few minutes and you hear them furiously googling on their keyboard, go ahead and just hang up and move onto the next one.
Podcast Guest on Show #244
2 Reply
Michael PlaksPro Member
Tax Accountant / Enrolled Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Melissa Logue:

We need to fill out From 3115 as depreciation was not claimed for five years on our property. Besides having a CPA do our entire taxes is there assistance with just this form anyone knows of?
Not a DIY project, sorry. I would not even delegate it to my well-trained staff.
1 Reply
Basit SiddiqiBusiness Member
Accountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
@Melissa Logue

Who prepared the tax returns and missed depreciation for 5 years?

I would not trust that person to continue doing the returns.

Form 3115 is not a simple form to file.
I do not touch requests from tax-payers who want me to fill out one form. Most practitioners know this is likely a one-time job and there is no future revenue from the person.
[email protected]917-280-8544
Basit Siddiqi CPA4.979 Reviews
View Page
1 Reply
Paul Allen
Financial Advisor · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2017 · 502 posts · 508 votes
7y
IRS estimates 32 hours to learn + prepare? Maybe if you're only doing DCN 7/107s.
Good golly I hate that form!
Welcome to BP! Best of Luck with Your Real Estate Investments!
0 Reply
Natalie KolodijBusiness Member
Moderator
Tax Strategist| National Tax Educator| Accepting New Clients · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
I'm just here to also reiterate what a PITA that form is. It's not an easy one.
I just want to make sure this is really emphasized so that when someone inevitably googles "How hard is the 3115" this thread comes up and they realize why one of us says we charge extra to complete it.
Keywords:
3115
Hard
Form
Hate that form
Hard form
CPA
Professional
Missed Depreciation
Podcast Guest on Show Pay Less Tax to the IRS This Year With THESE Real Estate Tax Strategies
Kolodij Tax & Consulting
Website View Page
2 Reply

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.