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[US - VA] Rental Taxes - Joint Tenancy

My girlfriend and I purchased a duplex in the spring of last year. We spent part of the year fixing it up and part of the year renting it out. This is our first time doing taxes with a rental property. We are not married and will be filing separately, but live together and each have joint-ownership of the property.

When it comes to reporting income and claiming deductions, I have read that it is expected that for joint-tenancy (joint ownership), each party is responsible for the portion of expenses that they personally paid, and is responsible for their share of the rental income as well.

My question is this -- all of our money related to the property (rental income, expenses, mortgage, local real estate taxes, etc.) flows through a joint bank account, which we both have our names on. In this sense, it would make sense that each of us could simply claim 50% of the reported income and 50% of the expenses on our individual returns. I am concerned about meeting the standard deduction if done this way. Is it possible for one of us to claim all of the rental income and expenses, and the other to claim none?

In my mind, since all of the income and expenses went through my bank account that I have control over, I would be able to report all of that on my return. My partner would then simply not report any income or claim any expenses for the property on their return. Is this an appropriate way to do things, or am I way off base? I want to make sure I do things by the book, and I also want to make sure I am not doing my taxes in a way that leaves money on the table.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

submitted by /u/D0ntPutThat0nMe
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/f81grf/us_va_rental_taxes_joint_tenancy/
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