Schedule "E" utility expenses allowed ?

[RWG1950]

New customer owns a side by side rental property - living in one side & renting the other side to daughter.
Rental FMV for the other unit is about $1,100 mo and that's what the daughter is paying.
Mom & dad pay the electric utility, phone & garbage disposal bills for the daughter's rental side.
Their prior tax preparer seemed to be using these utility amounts as schedule "E" expenses on their returns.
Under these circumstances, are the utility amounts paid for daughter's side allowable as subtractions on the E ?

[taxmom34]

why not? if those expenses are not part of reason for renting to daughter.

[Lion]

Is $1,100/month FMV with utilities INCLUDED ??

[RWG1950]

The $ 1,100 per mo rent is apparently with the understanding that utilities are included. (but with no written lease)
Seems to me, though, that the $ 1,100 in FMV rental value would be applicable to the unit only - if rented at arm's length.
Mom & dad probably wouldn't be paying said utilities if rented to an unrelated person. (separate electric meters but common phone bill)

[Lion]

That's what I asked. Would they advertise it for rent at $1,100, utilities included, and take a stranger as a tenant under those conditions? If not, then it's less than FMR.

[ATSMAN]

If the rent paid is FMV then in a duplex with common utility meters I put 50% rental ratio in my spreadsheet and that prorates utilities, mortgage interest, re taxes etc. and allocated the rental expense on Sch E.

Here in MA we have many older triple deckers with common utility meters and one large boiler for steam heating run by a 500 gal fuel tank.

[RWG1950]

These folks are paying the cell phone bill for daughter and grandson (who also lives there) as well as electric and garbage service and have been writing all these expenses off on "E".
It seemed to me (just as Lion seemed to say in his post) that paying for & deducting these expenses has the effect of reducing the amount of rent actually received to be less than FMV.
As it's rented to family, I thought these expenses of $3,000 + could possibly make an auditor view it as a not for profit type of rental.

[ATSMAN]

Cell phone bills are NOT paid by the landlord, unless the tenant is also performing certain services for the landlord. They are personal expenses so keep that off the Sch E.

[Burke]

How far off the mark is the actual rent vs FMR? Info usually available via Zillow. Perhaps the rent is in line, but the utiilties would be personal expenses and not deductible. Taxes and mortgage interest are always deductible. Albeit on Sche A.