Say Joe began renting out a rental property in 2015 and he has been claiming a reasonable depreciation annually for the tax years till now.
For 2018 taxes, Joe wishes to stop claiming a depreciation. With the recent changes to the tax law, is the advice on this page still valid?
The IRS included depreciation recapture in the tax law so you are liable whether you used it or not. Claiming depreciation is not optional; any unclaimed depreciation is still subject to recapture when the property is sold.
If you don't take depreciation, the IRS will reduce your basis anyway as if you had taken depreciation. So even if you don't take depreciation the IRS treats it as if you did.
So why not get the yearly benefit of taking depreciation?
Whether Joe stops claiming a depreciation or not, will he end up paying taxes (25% according to the article) on the recaptured depreciation?