Rental Property Tax
Tax treatment is where buy-and-hold quietly wins. Depreciation, Schedule E, deductions, and the 1031 exchange can turn positive cash flow into a paper loss. These guides explain the mechanics — then verify your specifics with a CPA.
Guides
Rental property tax deductions — the 14 every investor should know
A Schedule E checklist for rental-property expenses, organized by form line, with worked deduction examples, eligibility limits and links to current IRS guidance.
11 min readDepreciation recapture on rental property: what to review before a sale
Depreciation lowers your basis every year, and that shapes the tax when you sell. A hypothetical rental sale shows how adjusted basis, gain character, transaction structure and taxpayer facts can change depreciation-related tax, and what to review with a tax professional first.
11 min readSchedule E for rental property: a line-by-line walkthrough
A line-by-line Schedule E walkthrough with a hypothetical rental: how positive monthly cash flow can still show a loss on paper, recordkeeping prompts for each line, and the questions to check against current IRS guidance and your own return.
10 min read1031 exchange basics for individual rental investors
How a 1031 exchange works: the 45-day identification and 180-day exchange periods, the qualified-intermediary safe harbor, like-kind rules, boot, reverse exchanges, and when it's worth the complexity.
11 min readShould you put your rental property in an LLC? (2026)
What an LLC does for a rental (liability protection) and doesn't do (cut your taxes), the due-on-sale risk when you transfer a mortgaged rental, how financing changes when an LLC owns the property, FinCEN's removal of beneficial-ownership reporting for domestic LLCs, and when the cost is worth it.
12 min readBonus depreciation on rental property in 2026: the restored 100% deduction and what qualifies
Current IRS guidance restored 100% bonus depreciation for eligible property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. The rental building itself usually does not qualify; certain shorter-life components can.
10 min readProperty tax reassessment: don't underwrite the seller's tax bill (2026)
Copying the property-tax line off the listing can understate your bill: the seller's figure may reflect a capped assessment or an owner-occupant exemption you won't get, and some states reset the assessment when a property sells. The supplemental bill after closing, and a worked $400K duplex where a $3,400-vs-$6,000 tax line pushes DSCR from 1.00 to 0.90 and cash flow from +$9 to −$208 a month.
10 min readHow to calculate depreciation on a rental property: the 27.5-year math, step by step (2026)
Rental property depreciation worked end to end on a $250K duplex: depreciable basis with closing costs ($256,000), the land-vs-building split (25% land leaves a $192,000 building), and the 27.5-year schedule with the mid-month convention ($6,982 a full year, $5,528 in a March first year). Plus the allowed-or-allowable rule that reduces your basis at sale even for depreciation you never claimed.
11 min readTerms these guides use
Depreciation Period, 1031 Exchange. Every other term is defined in the glossary.
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