Best Tax Strategy for converting personal property into a rental

[Naush K.]

Hi BPers,

I'm converting my current property into a rental and want to maximize my write offs/depreciation and minimize my capital gains when it comes to sell.

My house was purchased in 2012 for $265k. I've done around $20k in updates. It needs a further $30k in updates. It's worth around $400k

I'd love to be able to write off or depreciate the $30k as part of the rental rather than being added to my cost basis. Can I convert the property into an S-Corp and retrieve my equity and set a higher cost basis. 

Are there any other strategies you've heard of?

Many Thanks

NK