As a landlord, can I deduct cellphone charges?

Q: I own a two-family house, and rent the first floor apartment. Can I deduct charges for my cellphone, which I have (in part) so my tenant can contact me when I'm not available at my work or home phone numbers? - Linda, Somerville

The following answer was provided by Mark Misselbeck, CPA, Levine Katz Nannis & Solomon PC, Needham.

A: The basic subscription for a personal phone line (land or cell) is not deductible, whereas a solely business line would be. Only if there are specific charges for the calls made by the tenant to the cell would you have a deduction - in which case, you would need to figure in the state and federal taxes associated with those charges, manually. The cell's costs (if any, given the promotions offered) would be deductible as a depreciation expense on a life of 5 years, to the extent of the business use of the cell - use straight line write off, if it is used less than 50% for business. If you do depreciate the cell, it is necessary to enter it on page 2 of Form 4562 as "Listed Property" (by statute) and disclose the number/duration of personal vs. business calls (whichever measure you use to determine the business use % of the cell) for the year.