Acquisition Costs

When buying a business or property, many costs can be incurred that have to be added to (capitalized as part of) your cost (adjusted basis) in the property. For example, the cost of a title insurance report, legal fees, transfer taxes, accounting fees, and so forth may all have to be added to your cost in the property. If the property is an investment property, and not your home, carefully evaluate the acquisition costs to find expenses that you can currently deduct. Plan how you allocate the total acquisition cost between land, building, furniture, and other assets you purchased, since land can’t be written off (depreciated), and buildings and furniture can be written off (depreciated) quickest of all.