If you own rental property away from home, you may be able to take a tax-deductible vacation. Say you live in New England and own a rental condo in Florida. You can deduct the cost of trips to Florida to maintain your investment.
Insight: You probably should not take deductions for a trip in-season. If your tax return is audited, the IRS might be skeptical of a “maintenance visit” to Orlando in January.
Such trips are easier to justify before or after the season. You might spend a week fixing up your Florida condo in July, scheduling a meeting with your rental agent while you’re there.
You probably can deduct your air travel, car rental, dining, and incidental expenses. Keep records to show you did some work on the condo, to help get it ready for the rental season to come.
