Rental Property Expense Tracker (Schedule E Aligned)

What you get

A spreadsheet with separate tabs for each property (up to 10), a dashboard summary, and categories that match IRS Schedule E line items exactly. When April arrives, your CPA opens the file and the numbers are already where they need to be.

Every category from Schedule E Line 3 through Line 19 has its own column: advertising, auto and travel, cleaning and maintenance, commissions, insurance, legal and professional fees, management fees, mortgage interest, repairs, supplies, taxes, utilities, and depreciation. Plus a column for "Other" with a description field.

How the spreadsheet works

Per-property tabs

Each property gets its own tab with the address at the top. Enter income (rent collected, late fees, other income) and expenses by category, one row per transaction. Date, description, category, and amount. Monthly subtotals calculate automatically.

Dashboard tab

The dashboard pulls from all property tabs and shows: total income, total expenses, net income, and a breakdown by Schedule E category across all properties. This is the tab you hand your CPA.

Monthly summary rows

Each property tab has a 12-month summary at the bottom. One row per month, columns for gross income, total expenses, and net income. You can see at a glance which months were strong and which ones had large repairs or vacancies.

Expense categories (Schedule E aligned)

• Line 5 -- Advertising (listing fees, signage, photos)
• Line 6 -- Auto and travel (mileage to property, IRS rate: $0.70/mile in 2026)
• Line 7 -- Cleaning and maintenance
• Line 8 -- Commissions (leasing fees paid to PM or agent)
• Line 9 -- Insurance (landlord policy, umbrella, flood)
• Line 10 -- Legal and professional fees (attorney, CPA, eviction filing)
• Line 11 -- Management fees
• Line 12 -- Mortgage interest (from 1098)
• Line 14 -- Repairs (not improvements, just repairs)
• Line 15 -- Supplies
• Line 16 -- Taxes (property tax, from county bill)
• Line 17 -- Utilities (if landlord-paid)
• Line 18 -- Depreciation (27.5-year straight-line, building value only)
• Line 19 -- Other (HOA dues, pest control, lawn care, etc.)

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