Guide for rental owners
Schedule E explained for landlords
The tax form where your rental's income and expenses go, line by line.
If you own a rental in your own name (or through a single-member LLC), its income and expenses usually go on Schedule E, attached to your Form 1040. Knowing its lines makes your books, and your conversation with your CPA, much clearer.
The top: your property
Each property gets a column: its address, its type (single-family, multi-family, short-term rental and so on), and how many days it was rented at fair rent versus used personally. One Schedule E page holds three properties.
The lines that matter most
| Line | What goes there |
|---|---|
| 3 | Rents received |
| 5 to 11 | Advertising, auto and travel, cleaning and maintenance, commissions, insurance, legal and professional fees, management fees |
| 12 and 13 | Mortgage interest paid to banks, and other interest |
| 14 to 17 | Repairs, supplies, taxes, utilities |
| 18 | Depreciation |
| 19 | Other expenses (HOA dues, pest control, bank fees and the like, listed out) |
| 20 and 21 | Total expenses, and your income or loss |
When the result is a loss
A loss on line 21 may be limited by the passive activity rules, which are worked out on Form 8582. The part you can use this year shows up on line 22. See passive loss carryover.
When it's a different form
- Multi-member LLCs and partnerships file a partnership return, with the rental on Form 8825, and each owner gets a K-1.
- Some short-term rentals with hotel-like services go on Schedule C instead. See short-term rental taxes.
Tethered Properties does this for you
Tethered Properties sorts every entry into its Schedule E line as you go, so your year-end report reads the way your CPA files, with a Form 8825 summary for multi-member LLCs.
This guide is general information for rental owners, not tax advice. Tax rules change and every situation is different; your CPA or tax advisor knows your full picture. Figures are estimates.