Blog
Rental bookkeeping, with the math shown
Schedule E, QuickBooks, reconciliation, and the tax math behind your rentals, written by people who actually keep these books, not a content farm.
Depreciation Recapture on Rental Property, Calculated
How depreciation recapture works when you sell a rental: the 25% layer, a worked $500k example, the 'allowed or allowable' trap, and the three legal ways to shrink the bill.
LLC for Rental Property: What Actually Changes on Your Taxes
An LLC for rental property is a liability decision, not a tax cut. For a single-member LLC, your federal return does not change at all. The real benefits, the costs, and how to set one up.
How to Do Bookkeeping for Rental Property (My One-Minute Month)
How to do bookkeeping for rental property, step by step: the monthly routine, which records you keep, the free templates for doing it by hand, and how I get a month down to about a minute.
NOI Calculator for Rental Property: Formula and Worked Math
Free NOI calculator for rental property: the net operating income formula, which expenses count, a worked $400,000 example, and the DSCR lenders compute from it.
Accounting Clean Up: How to Fix Messy Rental Property Books
A working accounting clean up plan for rental books: reconcile to statements, fix repairs vs improvements, split the mortgage, and catch up depreciation.
Schedule E Line 14 Repairs: What You Can Deduct in 2026
What belongs on Schedule E line 14, how the IRS separates repairs from improvements, and the three safe harbors that decide the borderline cases.
Cost Segregation for Rental Property: Worth It in 2026?
What a cost segregation study does for a rental, the 2026 bonus depreciation math, what a study costs, and the two catches: passive losses and recapture.
What Is a Good ROI on a Rental Property? Real Benchmarks
Most investors call 8% to 12% cash-on-cash a good ROI on a rental property. The number changes with the formula, so here are benchmarks for cap rate, cash-on-cash, and ROE, plus worked math and a free calculator.
Is Rental Income Passive or Earned Income? The IRS Answer
Rental income is passive, not earned, in almost every case. What that means for self-employment tax, passive loss limits, and the three setups that flip it.
Real Estate Professional Status: What the 750 Hours Buy You
Real estate professional status explained: the 750 hour rule, the 50% test, material participation, and a worked example of what qualifying is worth.
Section 179 Depreciation for Rental Property: The Real Rules
Section 179 depreciation for rental property: what qualifies after the TCJA, the 2026 limits, the three gates that block landlords, and when bonus wins.
Bonus Depreciation for Rental Property: 100% Is Back
Bonus depreciation is back to 100% permanently under the 2025 law. What qualifies in a rental (not the building), the cost seg math, and the passive-loss catch.
Foreign Rental Property Depreciation: The 30-Year ADS Rule
Foreign rental property depreciation runs on a 30-year ADS clock, not 27.5. The 40-year trap for pre-2018 buys, what ADS costs you, and a worked example.
Can You 1031 Exchange a Primary Residence?
Not directly: Section 1031 is for investment property. But converting your home to a rental first, or combining Section 121 with an exchange, gets you most of the way. The rules and the waiting periods.
Rental Property Loss Tax Deduction: The $25,000 Rule
When rental property losses are deductible: the $25,000 special allowance and its phase-out, the passive activity rules, Form 8582 suspended losses, and what those losses are worth when you sell.
Depreciation Life of Rental Property Assets: The Full Table
The depreciation life of every rental property asset: why a roof and central HVAC take 27.5 years, appliances take 5, driveways take 15, and what to do with the old roof you just replaced.
Primary Residence to Rental: The Depreciation Rules
Converting your home to a rental property? The depreciation basis is the lesser of cost or fair market value at conversion. The rules, a dual-basis worked example, and what to document.
Schedule C vs. Schedule E for Rental Property: Which One and Why It Matters
Schedule C vs Schedule E decides whether your rental income pays 15.3% self-employment tax. The substantial-services test, where Airbnb lands, and the myth that short-term means Schedule C.
The Augusta Rule: 14 Days of Tax-Free Rental Income
The Augusta rule (IRS Section 280A(g)) lets you rent your home for up to 14 days a year and pay zero tax on the income. How it works, the day-15 cliff, fair market rent, and the business-meeting variant.
The De Minimis Safe Harbor Election for Rental Property
The de minimis safe harbor election lets landlords expense items up to $2,500 instead of depreciating them, and it skips the recapture at sale. How to make the election, and what qualifies.
How to Avoid Capital Gains Tax on Rental Property (and When You Only Defer It)
How to reduce or defer capital gains tax when you sell a rental: the 1031 exchange, the primary-residence exclusion, installment sales, and the suspended losses that offset your gain.
How to Calculate Depreciation on a Rental Property (Step by Step)
Calculate rental property depreciation step by step: cost basis, the land split, the 27.5-year formula, the mid-month convention, and the recapture bill when you sell.
How to Pay No Taxes on Rental Income (Legally)
Rental income is taxable, but depreciation and deductions can drive the taxable number to zero. Here is how landlords legally pay little or no tax on rental income.
The Short-Term Rental Tax Loophole, Explained (and Who Actually Qualifies)
The short-term rental tax loophole lets STR losses offset your W-2 income with no real-estate-professional status. Here are the two rules, the material participation tests, and the catch at sale.
How to Reconcile Your Rental Property Books (Without a Bookkeeper)
Reconciling proves your rental books are complete and correct. Here is how to do it yourself, the small gaps to expect, and the real culprits behind a balance that won't tie.
How to Categorize Rental Property Expenses for Schedule E (2026)
A practitioner's guide to sorting rental expenses onto the right Schedule E line, including the repair-vs-improvement safe harbors and the QuickBooks subtype trap that quietly understates your repairs.