Rental income reporting and Mortgage interest deduction

[panv_can]

My wife and myself own a home jointly for which we took mortgage. I am solely paying the mortgage payments on monthly basis. We have a secondary suite in the house, which is generating rental income. As far as I know, Mortgage interest can be claimed (in the proportion of the size) if a property is generating any income. I have below questions to understand what all deductions can be availed while reporting the rental income:

1. Do we have to split the renatl income and then report it or can I report it entirely on my return and adjust against the expenses (following questions)?

2. The interest payments (proportional to the secondary suite size) were more than the actual renatl income. Can we still claim all of it or only up to the extent of earnings. In essense I incurred losses thanks to high interest rates.

3. I also had to legalize the secondary suite, during the year. Can we report those expenses like painting, chainging fire alarms, getting dry walls re-installed etc.

4. What other expenses like Property tax, Utility bills, etc. Can we report as expenses?

[TurboTaxSusan]

If both you and your spouse own the property, then both of you have to claim the rental income based on your share of ownership.

Yes, you can claim the full mortgage interest related to the rental portion of the property, for any part of the time during the year when you were renting the secondary suite, or actively trying to find tenants. 

If you renovated the suite, then you can't claim anything that improved it's condition. You would add that to the value of your home when you sell or dispose of it.

TurboTax will show you what common expenses you can claim as you go through the rental part of your return, but yes, you can claim things like the portion of property tax and utilities related to the rental suite.