When doing taxes, can you deduct rent that is paid to your employer for required live-in housing?

Question

I am a motel manager, and my living on the property is mandatory to do the job; I pay rent to my employer every month, and I am wondering if I can deduct this somehow when doing my taxes? ANY info would be greatly appreciated

Answer 1

Usually things like rent are covered under the standard deduction. If you are required to live there, check under the schedule A "employee expenses" to see if you meet the Sch A criteria. If so, your rent must be more than your standard deduction, plus you can only deduct that which is more than 2% of your income. Example:
Your rent: 5,500 per year
Your income: 30,000 per year
Single std ded: 3850 (I think, check your tax form for the exact amount)
Your rent is higher than your standard deduction in the example.
Your 2% of income is $600.
Your "itemized deduction" amount in this example is $4900, but it eliminates the $3850...so you get some benefit but not entirely. The itemized deduction replaces the standard deduction, not adds to it.
Look for other deductions on the schedule A that may help to increase the itemized amount.

Answer 2

Did you declare depreciation on the domicile even as it develop into generating condominium earnings? First there is recapture: through the years, you've been deducting depreciation. Now, its “payback” time – called a “recapture tax”. cutting-edge tax regulation will require you to pay a 25 % tax on the quantity you've depreciated. 2d there is capital benefit: because you've held the resources for better than 365 days, you're eligible for the capital gains tax fee, which at the moment is 20 % of the appreciation. There are belongings you may deduct from the promoting fee with a view to attain on the adjusted foundation or taxable quantity. i imagine you may be nicely recommended to seek advice from a tax professional in the previous the top of the year (or in the previous you truly promote).

Answer 3

At one time, my wife was a manager of an apartment complex and we were required to live there. Our rental payment was deductable from our taxes. That was 20 years ago, though and I don't know if the laws are still the same.

Answer 4

No, rent is not deductible.

You may wish to speak to your employer about this, though. By charging you rent, he's actually not only screwing you, he's screwing himself!

If he provides it on the premises, as a condition of emplyoyment, and for his convenience, then its value is not taxable to you. So if he reduces your salary by the amount of the rent you're paying you effectively get the "deduction" and ultimately pay less tax.

He also benefits from this arrangement as he no longer needs to include the "rent" you pay as income to him which is the current case, so his taxable income goes down and HE pays less tax too!

Answer 5

A lot of it depends if you are an independent contractor or not. Please leave more details.