Today TaxMama® hears from Bob with this question. “In order to rent my residence (house) as “unfurnished”, I had to move my furniture and other belongings to a storage facility (like Public Storage). Can I deduct the expense of this storage against my rental income?”
Dear Friends and Family,
Your personal furniture is just that – personal.
It has nothing whatsoever to do with your rental.
About the costs, may I make a suggestion?
Look at the value of your belongings.
Compare that value to how long they will remain stored – and the related cost. Is it really worthwhile to store ALL those things?
Consider selling the furniture and other items that can be replaced.
(Naturally, keep the highly personal things like family pictures and artifacts.)
Frankly, I have seen people store things for years, with the storage costs exceeding the value of their furnishings. Meanwhile, the items were deteriorating or becoming worth less, all the while.
In fact, my office manager, Lulu, just told me about her friends. They are storing personal belongings in storage units and paying about $500 per month. Just for one year costs $6,000. Imagine just leaving those things lingering there for a few years. 5 years passes quickly. The costs can easily escalate to $30,000 in that time. Can’t you think of a much better use for $30,000? I certainly can!
To make comments and tell us about your storage shame, please drop into the TaxQuips Forum.
And remember, you can find answers to all kinds of questions about deductions and other tax and business issues, free.
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