Rental Property Deductions: The Big Checklist

By Tom, CPA · Updated October 27, 2026

Part of: Rental Property Taxes

TL;DR: Landlords can deduct ordinary and necessary rental expenses, including mortgage interest, insurance, property taxes, HOA dues, repairs, travel to the property, professional fees and depreciation. Principal, improvements (until depreciated), your own labor and personal-use costs are not deductible.

Educational only, not tax, legal, or investment advice. Examples are illustrations, not predictions. Rules and limits change; verify current figures and talk to a qualified professional about your situation.

Your tenant pays the mortgage; the IRS pays for the roof, eventually, over 27.5 years. Everything else on this list it pays for a lot faster. Rental expenses are deducted against rental income on Schedule E, and IRS Publication 527 is the master list. Use this checklist when you close the books each year. Each item notes the Schedule E line it usually lands on.

Lavish Larry reads "write-off" as "free." It is not: a deduction saves you your marginal tax rate times the expense. At a 24% bracket, a $1,000 deductible expense still costs $760 of real money.

CPA Warning Label: "It is deductible" and "it is deductible this year" are different sentences. Points, improvements and loan costs are real deductions that arrive in installments.

Mortgage interest and points

• Mortgage interest on loans used to buy or improve the rental (line 12). Form 1098 shows it. Interest on a loan secured by your home but used for the rental is allocated by use of the proceeds, not by collateral.
• Points on a rental loan are not deducted all at once. Pub. 527 says points paid to get a loan on rental property are deducted over the life of the loan (amortized). If the loan is paid off or refinanced with a different lender, the remaining balance is generally deductible then.
• Other loan costs such as loan origination fees, appraisal fees required by the lender and mortgage broker fees are amortized over the loan term, not added to building basis.
• Not deductible: principal payments. They reduce debt; they are not an expense.

Illustration: A landlord pays $3,600 of points on a 30-year rental mortgage taken in January. Annual amortization is $3,600 / 30 = $120. Refinance with a new lender in year 5 and the remaining $3,120 is deductible that year (assuming the payoff ends that loan).

Insurance, taxes, HOA

• Insurance (line 9): landlord fire and hazard coverage, liability, flood, rent-loss coverage. Prepaid multi-year premiums are deducted year by year for the coverage period.
• Property taxes (line 16): real estate taxes on the rental. The state and local tax (SALT) cap on itemized deductions applies to personal taxes on Schedule A, not to rental property taxes deducted on Schedule E.
• Local benefit assessments for sidewalks, sewers or streets that increase the property value are added to basis, not deducted (Pub. 527).
• HOA and condo dues (line 19, other): deductible. Special assessments for capital improvements are generally capitalized.
• Payroll taxes for any employees you hire for the rental.

Repairs and maintenance

• Repairs (line 14): fixing a leak, patching drywall, replacing a broken window pane, servicing the furnace, repainting between tenants.
• Cleaning and maintenance (line 7): turnover cleaning, landscaping, pest control, snow removal.
• Supplies (line 15): light bulbs, filters, smoke detector batteries, small tools.
• Improvements are not repairs. A new roof, new HVAC system or full kitchen remodel is generally a capitalized improvement under the betterment, restoration or adaptation tests. See repair vs. improvement and the capital improvements list.
• Safe harbors: the $2,500 de minimis election, the small taxpayer safe harbor and the routine maintenance safe harbor can turn borderline costs into current deductions.

Travel and mileage to the rental

• Local transportation (line 6): driving to collect rent, show the unit, meet contractors or buy supplies. Use actual expenses or the standard mileage rate for the year (published annually by the IRS). Keep a log with date, destination, purpose and miles.
• Long-distance travel to an out-of-town rental is deductible if the primary purpose is rental business: collecting rent, managing or maintaining the property. Pub. 527 says you must properly allocate between rental and personal activities.
• Not deductible: travel to look at properties you are thinking of buying is generally a capitalized acquisition cost if you buy or a non-deductible cost if you do not, depending on circumstances. And a "repair trip" that is mostly a vacation is a vacation.

Illustration: Frugal Fran drives 1,200 business miles to her two rentals in a year. At a hypothetical rate of 70 cents per mile, that is $840 of deductions. Look up the actual rate for the year on irs.gov; it changes annually.

Professional fees and software

• Legal and professional fees (line 10): tax preparation for the rental portion of the return, eviction lawyers, lease drafting, bookkeeping.
• Management fees (line 11) and commissions (line 8): property manager percentages, leasing fees, platform service fees for STRs.
• Advertising (line 5): listing fees, signs, online ads.
• Software and subscriptions (line 19): property management software, rent collection platforms, screening services.
• Utilities (line 17) you pay for the rental, including vacant-period utilities.
• Depreciation (line 18): building, improvements, appliances and furniture via Form 4562. See depreciation guide.
• Home office: possible if rental activity is a trade or business and the space is used regularly and exclusively for it. Many small landlords do not meet the trade-or-business bar; be conservative.

Things you cannot deduct

Vacancy is not a separate deduction either: you cannot deduct "lost rent," but you can keep deducting ordinary expenses while the property is held out for rent. See vacant rental deductions.

Year-end checklist

1. Reconcile rent deposits to the ledger, including fees and reimbursements.
2. Match Form 1098 interest and property tax bills to what you paid.
3. Review every invoice over $2,500 for repair vs. improvement.
4. Decide on safe harbor elections and prepare the statements.
5. Update the depreciation schedule for anything placed in service.
6. Total the mileage log.
7. Carry forward prior passive losses from last year's Form 8582 worksheets.