Schedule E for landlords: every expense line, explained

Free tool: Schedule E expense organizer → Sort a year of rental income and expenses into the exact Schedule E lines. Print or download for your accountant.

Schedule E (Form 1040), Part I, is where your rental's year comes together. Each property gets a column (A, B, C); each kind of expense gets a line. Here's what goes where, based on the 2025 form.

Income

Line 3 — Rents received. All rent you received during the year, including advance rent, fees a tenant pays you (late fees, pet fees), and any part of a security deposit you kept. A deposit you expect to return isn't income when you receive it.

Expenses, line by line

Line	What goes there	Examples
5	Advertising	Listing fees, signs, photos for the listing
6	Auto and travel	Trips to the property for rental business
7	Cleaning and maintenance	Turnover cleaning, lawn care, pest control
8	Commissions	Leasing commissions you paid
9	Insurance	Landlord (dwelling) policy premiums
10	Legal and other professional fees	Tax prep for the rental, attorney fees
11	Management fees	Property manager fees, rental software
12	Mortgage interest paid to banks, etc.	From Form 1098 — interest only, not principal
13	Other interest	Interest on other loans used for the rental
14	Repairs	Fixes that keep it in working order (not improvements)
15	Supplies	Light bulbs, filters, smoke-alarm batteries
16	Taxes	Property tax for the rental
17	Utilities	Utilities you pay, not the tenant
18	Depreciation expense or depletion	Use our depreciation calculator
19	Other	HOA dues, bank fees — list each type

Then line 20 totals lines 5 through 19, and line 21 subtracts it from rents to give the property's income or (loss).

The mistakes that draw a second look

• Mortgage payments instead of interest. Only interest goes on line 12. Principal is never an expense.
• Improvements as repairs. A new roof or remodel on line 14 instead of being depreciated. Small items may qualify for the de minimis safe harbor: Under the de minimis safe harbor, you can elect to deduct items costing $2,500 or less per invoice or item in the year you buy them, instead of depreciating them.
• Personal costs. Your own home's utilities, personal travel, or your time aren't rental expenses.
• A large "Other." Line 19 is fine for HOA dues and bank fees, but list each type; a big unexplained number invites questions.
• Forgetting depreciation. It's allowed whether or not you claim it — and taxed at sale either way.
• Mixed-use years. In the year you convert your home, split expenses by the months it was a rental.

If line 21 is a loss

Rental losses are generally passive, but small landlords get an important allowance: If you actively participate in managing a rental (approving tenants, setting rent, approving repairs), you can usually deduct up to $25,000 a year of rental losses against other income. The allowance shrinks once modified adjusted gross income passes $100,000 and is gone at $150,000. Losses you can't use are carried forward. Form 8582 handles the calculation — a good moment to involve a tax preparer.

Sort it in one sitting

The Schedule E organizer lists every line with plain-English hints, handles up to three properties side by side, saves in your browser only, and prints or downloads a summary for your preparer.

Sources: Schedule E (Form 1040), IRS Publication 527. General information, not tax advice.

Common questions

General information, not legal or tax advice. Where we state a law, we link the statute and re-check it on a schedule; your city or county can add rules of its own.