Once you have determined the type of property/asset you are dealing with you must determine use. There are four use classifications of property:

1. Personal-use property (not the same as personal type) is owned for personal use and enjoyment or living purposes. Items such as a primary residence, vehicle, clothing, household goods, recreational items, pets, etc, all are considered personal use property.

2. Investment-use property is property owned with a primary objective of increasing in value even though some current income may be generated. This classification includes things like land, collectibles like art or coins, capital stocks, bonds, and buildings not used in active rental. Read more

Depreciation is one of the standards of tax preparation that every tax professional must have a firm grip on to do right by their client. In order to understand depreciation you must first understand basis. Over the next several posts in this series we will review basis and depreciation, discuss the relationships of them to each other, and review old, new and expiring depreciation provisions.

Basis is generally defined as the taxpayer’s investment in the asset and depreciation is defined as the allocation of an asset’s cost over a period of time that is in line with the useful life of the asset. This allows the recovery of normal wear and tear on an asset throughout it’s useful life. Read more