WRITE OFF EXPENSES FOR SUN PEAKS CONDO

QUESTION: Hi. I love your website.
My wife and I just purchased a townhouse in Sun Peaks with another couple
from Edmonton for the purpose of generating nightly rental income. I have
the following questions:

1. If we decide to use an online company to build our own website and rental
management structure, are we able to write off the use of the office space
in both of our homes if the duties of maintaining the website and rentals is
shared among both couples?

2. Is it wiser to purchase or lease a computer?

Can both couples deduct a purchase/lease of a computer? In other words, if
both couples purchase or lease a computer, can both computers be tax
deductible?

Thank you for your time,

IXXXX

Langley

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david ingam replies:

The rental of a condominium does not usually generate a deduction for an
office in the home of the participants.

However, IF you are establishing a "stand-alone" office and not using it
part time for "any" other purposes, the deduction of an office in the home
would likely be deductible because of the "business" nature of single night
rentals. However, because the office is in your home, the expenses can only
be claimed if you have a profit. To claim the business income and expenses,
you should use form T2124 instead of the usual rental schedule T776.

If an office is deductible for one of you, it would be deductible for both
of you. However, again, if you set up a separate office which you used
"exclusively" for the business, (no kids homework, no personal
correspondence by email, no on line computer games, not part of a guest
room), you could make a claim but your Edmonton partner with the computer
set up in a corner of the living room, could not. (Our living/dining room
area has two computers set up)

Should you buy or lease? I would only buy a computer and again I want to
make a point. I am answering this on a used PII 300 IBM I bought for $50.00
US on eBay. the monitor is a used 17" bought for $110.00 at the Second Hand
Computer Store in North Vancouver and the printer is a used Lexmark 4049
bought on eBay for $80.00 US delivered . Each station of our 15 computers in
our office represents less than $300 Canadian for a working computer with
the same qualities and those are year old prices.

A six computer netwrok in our house cost less than $2,000 complete.

You can do what you want with a used PII system for $200.00. Leasing makes
no sense at those prices.

Hope this helps

David Ingram of the CEN-TA REALTY Group
US / Canada / Mexico tax and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
108-100 Park Royal South
West Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7T 1A2
(604) 913-9133 - Fax 913-9123 [email protected]
www.centa.com www.david-ingram.com

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