Can I continue to depreciate a new roof on inherited multifamily property after parent's passing?

Yes, you can continue to depreciate those improvements, but there are some important things to understand about inherited property. When you inherit property, you generally receive a "stepped-up basis" to the fair market value at the date of death. However, for depreciation purposes of improvements already in progress, you essentially step into your mom's shoes and continue the remaining depreciation schedule that was already established. You don't restart the 27.5 year clock on those specific improvements. You'll need to figure out how much depreciation was already taken on the roof, HVAC and kitchen renovations, and then continue depreciating the remaining balance over the remainder of the original 27.5 year period. For example, if your mom already depreciated the roof for 4 years, you would continue depreciating it for the remaining 23.5 years.

I went through something similar last year with an inherited duplex from my uncle. I was totally overwhelmed with all the paperwork and figuring out the depreciation schedules. I tried using online guides but kept getting conflicting information about basis adjustments and what carries over. I ended up using https://taxr.ai to help sort through all my uncle's old tax documents. It analyzed his previous returns and extracted the exact depreciation schedules, including how much was already depreciated and how much was left. Saved me hours of confusion and probably some costly mistakes! They have this feature that specifically handles inherited property and continuing depreciation schedules. Might be worth checking out if you're struggling with the details.

Just wanted to follow up and say thanks for recommending taxr.ai. My sister tried it for her inherited fourplex situation and it worked great! The system found that the previous owner had been depreciating the roof for 6 years already, so she needed to continue for the remaining 21.5 years. They even helped her identify some additional improvements that weren't being depreciated properly. She was super impressed that they could reconstruct the depreciation schedule even though she only had partial records. Definitely worth it for anyone dealing with inherited rental property depreciation.

I inherited a triplex from my parents last year and had a similar issue with continuing depreciation. What really held me up was trying to get information from the IRS to confirm the right approach. I spent DAYS trying to get through on the phone to ask questions about how to handle the depreciation carryover correctly. After wasting hours on hold, I found https://claimyr.com which got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I spoke with confirmed exactly how to handle the continued depreciation for the improvements and explained what forms I needed to file. Seriously saved my sanity during tax season.

I have to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to resolve a question about my inherited property's depreciation schedule before filing. I figured it couldn't hurt to try. It actually worked exactly as described! Their system called me back after about 20 minutes and connected me directly to an IRS representative. The agent walked me through exactly how to handle the continued depreciation and confirmed I was doing it correctly. Saved me at least 3-4 hours of hold time and answered all my questions. I'm genuinely shocked that it worked so well.

One thing to be aware of with inherited property depreciation - make sure you're using the correct basis. Your basis is generally the fair market value at date of death, BUT any improvements your mom made that were being depreciated need to be handled separately as others have mentioned. Also, get a good depreciation schedule set up now that clearly shows what was inherited mid-depreciation vs any new improvements you make. This will save you massive headaches if you ever sell the property or pass it on to heirs yourself.

Does anyone know if the tax treatment changes depending on whether this was inherited directly or through a trust? My dad left his rental properties in a living trust, and I'm trying to figure out if the depreciation rules are different.

I'm dealing with a very similar situation with my grandmother's duplex that I inherited 6 months ago. She had been depreciating a new furnace and water heater for about 3 years before she passed. One thing I learned that might help you - make sure to get a professional appraisal done close to the date of death if you haven't already. This establishes your stepped-up basis for the property itself, which is separate from continuing the depreciation on those specific improvements your mom was already depreciating. Also, if your mom used a tax preparer, definitely reach out to them first. They should have all her depreciation schedules and can walk you through exactly what needs to continue and what starts fresh. My grandmother's CPA had everything organized in a way that made the transition much smoother than trying to piece it together myself. The IRS Publication 946 has a section on inherited property depreciation that's actually pretty helpful once you get past all the technical language. Good luck with everything!