A pending sale makes the old depreciation ledger more visible, not less. Gain calculations use adjusted basis, and the federal rules account for depreciation allowed or allowable. A seller needs the historical schedule reconciled before assuming that omitted deductions can be ignored.
Why does allowed-or-allowable depreciation matter?
IRS Publication 946 defines recapture and adjusted-basis concepts around depreciation that was allowed or allowable. Skipping a deduction on a filed return does not necessarily preserve basis as though depreciation never existed. The year-by-year allowed-or-allowable schedule therefore belongs beside the sale worksheet.
How is the disposition year handled?
Publication 946 explains that residential rental depreciation for the year of disposition is prorated under the applicable convention rather than automatically taken for a full year. The sale date, convention, prior method, and asset components affect the final schedule. A rough annual amount is not enough for a closing-year return.
Can Form 3115 still be used?
Timing, ownership at the start of the year of change, prior method, and the current automatic-change revenue procedure can affect availability. The answer should come from the CPA with the complete file in hand. A catch-up workpaper can make that review faster, but it cannot promise a deduction or a particular tax result before the CPA confirms the procedure.
What can the Reality Contact check provide?
The free estimate applies the disclosed 80% building assumption and 27.5-year residential recovery period to the facts supplied. The $99 computation replaces the rough split with source records and builds the allowed-or-allowable schedule and section 481(a) adjustment. The $249 packet adds the corrected ledger, forward schedule, draft Form 3115 sections, and CPA cover note. The CPA reviews, signs, and files.
Where does the operator boundary sit?
This is not tax advice. Reality Contact, LLC prepares a computation and draft workpaper for a CPA. We do not prepare a return, sign or file Form 3115, represent a taxpayer, or decide whether a method change is available. The taxpayer's CPA reviews and files. The free estimate uses a disclosed 80% building assumption and the 27.5-year residential recovery period. It is a real arithmetic check and a demand sample. We reply by email; the paid work replaces the rough land split with the assessor record and closing documents. The current source check starts with this published record.