If you own rental property, your rental income and expenses go on Schedule E (Form 1040), Part I. The expense section is a fixed list of line items, and knowing them up front makes bookkeeping through the year a lot easier, because you can sort every expense into its line as it happens instead of in April.
Here's the list as it appears on the form, with what typically goes in each:
1. Advertising: listing fees, signs, paid listings.
2. Auto and travel: mileage or actual costs for trips to the property.
3. Cleaning and maintenance: turnover cleaning, lawn care, snow removal, routine upkeep.
4. Commissions: fees paid to find tenants.
5. Insurance: landlord policy premiums.
6. Legal and other professional fees: attorney, accountant, eviction costs.
7. Management fees: property management company charges.
8. Mortgage interest paid to banks: the interest portion only, not principal.
9. Other interest: interest on other loans tied to the property.
10. Repairs: fixing something back to working order (as opposed to improving it, which is depreciated).
11. Supplies: small items, light bulbs, filters, hardware.
12. Taxes: property taxes.
13. Utilities: anything you pay rather than the tenant.
14. Depreciation expense or depletion: the annual write-off of the building and improvements.
15. Other: HOA dues, bank fees, anything that doesn't fit above (list it).
The one that trips people up most is repairs versus improvements. Replacing a broken faucet is a repair. Replacing the whole kitchen is an improvement and gets depreciated over years. When in doubt, note it and ask your tax preparer.
Our Schedule E Rental Tax Organizer template sorts entries into these exact lines per property as you type them. But even on a plain sheet, using this list as your category list means your books already match the form.
This is general information, not tax advice for your situation.
The 15 Schedule E expense lines, in plain English
OfficialBlackVortex Digital · 2 days ago · 0 replies