Schedule E worksheet
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FREE WORKSHEET
Schedule E expense organizer
Every rental expense, sorted into the line the IRS asks for. Your numbers stay in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Summary for your tax preparer
What goes on Schedule E
Schedule E (Form 1040) Part I is where rental income and expenses meet. Each property gets its own column, and every expense goes on a specific line. Getting the lines right matters less for the math — the total is the total — than for the questions it prevents: an unusually large “Other” or “Repairs” line is exactly what draws a second look.
The lines landlords get wrong
- Mortgage payment vs. interest. Only the interest (Form 1098) goes on line 12. Principal is never an expense.
- Repairs vs. improvements. Fixing a leak is a repair (line 14, deducted now). A new roof or kitchen is an improvement — depreciated over 27.5 years on line 18.
- Security deposits. Not income when you receive them if you expect to return them. They become income only if you keep part of the deposit.
- Advance rent. Rent paid in December for January is income in the year you receive it.
- Your time. You can't deduct the value of your own labor — only what you pay others.
Keep the paper
For every number here, keep the receipt, invoice, or statement behind it. A year of rental records in one folder (or one app) turns an audit letter from a crisis into an afternoon.
QUESTIONS
Common questions
What expenses go on Schedule E?
Advertising, auto and travel, cleaning and maintenance, commissions, insurance, legal and professional fees, management fees, mortgage interest, other interest, repairs, supplies, property taxes, utilities, depreciation, and other ordinary rental expenses — each on its own line.
Is mortgage principal deductible on Schedule E?
No. Only the interest goes on Schedule E. The principal you repay is not an expense — the building's cost is recovered through depreciation instead.
Repairs vs. improvements — what's the difference?
A repair keeps the property in working order (fixing a leak, patching drywall) and is deducted the year you pay for it. An improvement makes it better, restores it, or adapts it to a new use (a new roof, a remodel) and is depreciated over time.