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In Reply to: Re: Roommate Opposite Crew posted by Marlon on January 18, 2009 at 15:12:01:
: Our rent is $1000/month. I am only allowed to take the boomer deduction for the days I am offcrew. My roommate is on the opposite crew (same boat) so we take boomer deductions at the exact opposite time. So lets say he had the boat from Jan-March. During those 3 months, do I take a $500 deduction or $1000 deduction? He is not eligible for the deduction from Jan-March since he is on the boat. So let's say we kept alternating like that. Through the course of the year, I would claim $3000 and he would claim $3000 if we split the rent in half while our annual rent is $12,000. However, if I say I solely live in the apartment during my offcrew days, I would claim $6000 and he would claim $6000 and our annual rent is $12,000. I hope this is more clear on what I meant with my initial question. Thank you.
: : Yes. You can only deduct your share of the expenses. In your particular case, you both can claim your share of the expenses on your taxes. (Example- Annual rent is $2000, you both claim $1000 deduction which adds up to the total rent. If you both claimed $2000 then $4000 would be deducted for a $2000 annual rent...and I know you don't want to rip off the government.)
: : : I have one roommate and usually you would divide the rent/utilitiy expense by the number of people that live in the home to determine the deduction. However, my roommate works on the opposite crew. Do I still need to divide by two to figure out the deduction?
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You can only deduct your share of the expenses. How you do that is up to you. (1) Divide by two if you are dividing all the household expenses. (2) Do not divide if you are only claiming your expenses.