Rental Property Tax Deductions in 2024

Last Updated: January 2024

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21 Most Common Tax Deductions for Rental Property Owners

1. Mortgage Interest: This is often the biggest tax deduction for landlords. Interest paid on loans for buying or improving a rental property can be deducted from your income, reducing your tax liability.
2. Depreciation: The cost of buying rental property isn’t fully deductible in the year you buy it. Instead, you deduct a portion of the cost over a number of years — this is called depreciation.
3. Repair and Maintenance Costs: Expenses for repairing and maintaining your rental property are fully deductible in the year they occur. These could include costs for replacing a water heater, refrigerator, or kitchen faucet.
4. Property Taxes: Local and state property taxes paid on rental properties are deductible against rental income.
5. Insurance: The premiums you pay for insurance on your rental property can be deducted from your rental income.
6. Travel Expenses: If you travel for the purposes of maintaining your rental property or collecting rent, these expenses can be deducted. This can include costs for driving to the rental property or even long-distance travel.
7. Home Office: If you use part of your home exclusively for managing your rental properties, you may be able to deduct a portion of your home expenses as a home office deduction.
8. Legal and Professional Fees: Expenses for lawyers, accountants, property management companies, real estate investment advisors, and other professionals can be deducted.
9. Advertising: The costs incurred while advertising your rental property are tax-deductible.
10. Utilities: If you pay for utilities at your rental property, those costs are deductible.
11. Property Management Fees: If you hire a property management company to take care of your rental property, the fees they charge are tax-deductible.
12. Loan Fees and Points: Certain loan origination fees, also known as points, may be deductible over the life of the loan.
13. Losses from Casualties and Thefts: If your property is damaged or destroyed from a sudden event like a fire or flood, you might be able to claim a deduction for your loss.
14. Association Fees: If your rental property is part of an homeowners association (HOA), you can deduct the fees you pay.
15. Operating Expenses: General costs for operating your rental business, like office supplies, are deductible.
16. Employee and Independent Contractor Wages: If you employ other people to help with your rental property, their wages are tax-deductible.
17. Pest Control: Any costs associated with pest control services for your rental property can be deducted.
18. Health and Safety Items: Expenses incurred for smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, security systems, and other safety-related items are deductible.
19. Cleaning and Maintenance: If you hire a service to clean or perform maintenance on your rental property, those costs are deductible.
20. Commissions: Fees that you pay to leasing agents or brokers to rent your property are deductible.
21. Education and Training: Expenses for seminars, classes, instructional books, and online courses related to rental real estate investing are deductible.

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How to Use Rental Property Tax Deductions (Actionable Steps)

1. Understand Your Eligible Expenses: Familiarize yourself with what you can and can’t deduct. This includes both everyday expenses like repairs and property management fees, and less frequent ones like property taxes and mortgage interest.
2. Maintain Accurate Records: Keep detailed and organized records of all expenses associated with your rental property. Receipts, invoices, and other documents will be crucial in case of an IRS audit.
3. Separate Personal and Business Expenses: Ensure that you clearly separate your personal and business expenses. Expenses related to personal use of a rental property typically cannot be deducted.
4. Hire a Tax Professional: Real estate tax laws can be complex and confusing. Hiring a tax professional who specializes in real estate investing can ensure you’re utilizing all the deductions you’re entitled to, and doing so correctly. These professionals can also propose other tax strategies such a cost segregation study or 1031 exchange.
5. Report All Rental Income: Accurately report all rental income you receive. This includes not only regular rental payments, but also any other income, such as fees for late payments.
6. Calculate Depreciation Correctly: Depreciation is one of the most significant tax deductions for rental properties but it’s also complex. Understanding how to correctly calculate and claim depreciation is vital.
7. Consider a Home Office Deduction: If you use part of your home exclusively for managing your rental properties, you may be able to claim a home office deduction.
8. Stay Updated with Tax Laws: Tax laws can change regularly, so it’s important to stay updated to make sure you’re not missing out on any potential tax breaks.

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What is Not Deductible for Rental Property Taxes

• Land Value: While the cost of your rental property building can be depreciated over time, the portion of the property’s cost attributed to land is not deductible since land does not depreciate.
• Property Improvements (in the short term): Major improvements that extend the life of a property or increase its value (e.g., replacing a roof or room addition) are considered capital expenses and must be capitalized and depreciated over a period of years, not deducted in the year they are incurred.
• Principal Payments: While mortgage interest is deductible, the principal payments you make on a mortgage for a rental property are not.
• Travel to Find New Properties: The IRS does not allow a deduction for travel expenses incurred while you are “searching for” a new rental property. However, once a property has been purchased, travel expenses associated with the management or maintenance of that property are deductible.
• Owner-Occupied Portions of the Rental: If a portion of your property is owner-occupied, expenses must be prorated, and the personal portion of these expenses cannot be deducted.
• Losses Exceeding Income: Known as the “passive activity loss rules,” you usually can’t deduct rental real estate losses in excess of your rental income.
• Transfer Taxes on Property Sale: These transfer tax costs of buying a rental property are added to the basis of the property and are not deductible as a current expense. These are different from the taxes incurred when selling a rental property.
• Personal Expenses: Any personal expenses not directly related to the rental activity are not deductible. For example, the cost of personal living expenses, personal travel, or personal use of rental property cannot be deducted as a rental expense.

Rental Property Tax Deductions FAQ

What are Rental Property Deductions?

Deductions refer to certain expenses related to owning, operating, and managing a rental property that can be subtracted from taxable income for tax purposes. Common examples include mortgage interest, property tax, operating expenses, depreciation, and repairs. These deductions can decrease the amount of income tax a property owner pays, effectively reducing the cost of owning and operating the rental property.

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Is There a Limit for Rental Property Deductions?

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Does Owning a Rental Property Help Reduce Taxes?

Yes, owning a rental property can significantly help reduce taxes. Rental property owners can take advantage of various tax deductions such as mortgage interest, property tax, operating expenses, depreciation, and repairs. These deductions cannot reduce the actual amount of state and local property taxes owed, but can offset rental income, which in turn can reduce the overall taxable income, thus decreasing the amount of tax owed. The IRS also allows landlords to carry over excess losses to future years if their deductions are more than the rental income for a given year (within certain limitations).

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What if Property Expenses are More Than Rental Income?

If your expenses for a rental property exceed your rental income for the year, you may have a net rental loss. This loss can be deducted from other income you have, potentially lowering your overall tax liability. However, there are limitations to this rule under the IRS’s Passive Activity Loss Rules. For taxpayers with a Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) below $100,000, they can deduct up to $25,000 of rental losses against other income. The deduction phases out between $100,000 and $150,000 of MAGI and disappears entirely for taxpayers with a MAGI above $150,000. If your rental losses exceed this limit, they are not lost entirely but carried forward to offset rental profits in future years.

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