Rental Property Spreadsheet for Expenses (Free Excel Template, Schedule E Ready)
A rental property expense spreadsheet is a list of every cost for your rental, with the date, who you paid, the amount and the Schedule E line it belongs on. If you sort each expense the day you pay it, tax time becomes copy and paste: the totals for each category go straight onto Schedule E. Our free rental property spreadsheet works in Excel and Google Sheets and does this for you on the Expenses and Mileage tabs.
What should a rental expense spreadsheet include?
Keep one row per expense. These columns are enough for a small landlord:
| Column | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Date | The day you paid (MM/DD/YYYY) | 03/20/2026 |
| Property or unit | Which rental the cost is for | 2210 Pine Ave |
| Paid to | The vendor or person | Joe’s Plumbing |
| Description | What it was for, in a few words | Fixed leaking kitchen drain |
| Category | The Schedule E line | Repairs (line 14) |
| Amount | What you paid | $240.00 |
| Payment method | Check, card, ACH, cash | Check #1042 |
| Receipt saved | Yes or no, and where | Yes, Drive folder 2026 |
The category column is the important one. Pick it when you enter the expense, not in April when you no longer remember what a $240 check was for.
Which Schedule E line does each expense go on?
Schedule E has 15 expense lines, from line 5 to line 19. Here is where common landlord costs usually go, based on the IRS instructions for Schedule E:
| Line | Category | Common examples |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Advertising | Listing fees, yard signs, paid ads |
| 6 | Auto and travel | Mileage to show the unit, buy supplies or meet a repair person |
| 7 | Cleaning and maintenance | Cleaning between tenants, lawn care, pest control, gutter cleaning |
| 8 | Commissions | A leasing fee paid to an agent who found your tenant |
| 9 | Insurance | Landlord or dwelling policy, flood insurance |
| 10 | Legal and other professional fees | Tax preparation for the rental, an attorney for a lease or eviction |
| 11 | Management fees | A property manager’s monthly fee |
| 12 | Mortgage interest paid to banks | The interest part of your mortgage (from Form 1098) |
| 13 | Other interest | Interest on a loan used for the rental, not from a bank on Form 1098 |
| 14 | Repairs | Fixing a leak, replacing a broken window pane, patching drywall |
| 15 | Supplies | Light bulbs, smoke detector batteries, small tools |
| 16 | Taxes | Property tax on the rental |
| 17 | Utilities | Water, trash, gas or electric that you pay, not the tenant |
| 18 | Depreciation | The yearly share of the building cost (from Form 4562) |
| 19 | Other | HOA dues, rental license, tenant screening you pay, bank fees |
Not sure about a line? Put it in the closest category and add a note. Your tax software or preparer can move it, but only if the expense is in your records at all.
What is not a deductible expense?
These are the mistakes that most often inflate a spreadsheet:
- Mortgage principal. Only the interest is deductible. A $1,600 payment might hold $900 of interest, $400 of principal and $300 of escrow for tax and insurance.
- Improvements. A new roof or a full kitchen remodel is not a repair. You recover it through depreciation over several years. See repairs vs improvements.
- Security deposits you plan to return. They are not income and not an expense. Track them separately.
- Your own time. The IRS does not let you deduct the value of your own labor.
- Personal use. If you live in one unit of a duplex, only the rental share of shared costs counts.
Example: one year of expenses for a single rental
Here are part of the 2026 records for a single family rental at 2210 Pine Ave, Tulsa, OK 74112:
| Date | Paid to | Description | Category | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/05/2026 | Home Depot | Kitchen faucet cartridge | Repairs (14) | $86.40 |
| 01/15/2026 | Insurance company | Landlord policy, 12 months | Insurance (9) | $1,248.00 |
| 02/10/2026 | Craigslist | Listing for the vacancy | Advertising (5) | $5.00 |
| 03/02/2026 | Tulsa County Treasurer | Property tax | Taxes (16) | $2,310.00 |
| 03/20/2026 | Joe’s Plumbing | Fixed kitchen drain leak | Repairs (14) | $240.00 |
| 04/30/2026 | Mileage log | 38 miles x $0.725 | Auto and travel (6) | $27.55 |
| 06/12/2026 | City utilities | Water bill during vacancy | Utilities (17) | $64.18 |
| 08/14/2026 | Mileage log | 22 miles x $0.76 | Auto and travel (6) | $16.72 |
At the end of the year the spreadsheet adds each category:
| Schedule E line | Total |
|---|---|
| 5 Advertising | $5.00 |
| 6 Auto and travel | $44.27 |
| 9 Insurance | $1,248.00 |
| 14 Repairs | $326.40 |
| 16 Taxes | $2,310.00 |
| 17 Utilities | $64.18 |
| Total expenses | $3,997.85 |
What mileage rate should you use for 2026?
For 2026 the IRS uses two business rates. Drives from 01/01/2026 to 06/30/2026 use 72.5 cents per mile. Drives from 07/01/2026 to 12/31/2026 use 76 cents per mile, after a rare midyear increase in IRS Announcement 2026-11. That is why the example above uses $0.725 in April and $0.76 in August.
Log every drive with the date, where you went, why, and the miles. A trip to the rental to show it, fix something or collect rent counts. A trip from your home to your regular job does not. More in our rental mileage deduction guide.
How do you keep it up to date?
- Use one bank account and one card for the rental. Your statement becomes a backup list of every expense.
- Snap a photo of each receipt and save it in a folder named for the year.
- Enter expenses once a week. Ten minutes on Sunday beats a weekend in April.
- Check the monthly totals against your bank statement.
- In January, print the Schedule E summary for yourself or your tax preparer.
Tax rules change and your situation may differ. Check the IRS instructions or ask a tax professional before you file.
Not sure how long to keep these receipts? See landlord record keeping.
At year end, use your payee totals to see who needs a 1099. Our 1099 guide for landlords has the 2026 rules and a free checklist.
Need a year end summary? Turn your totals into a free rental property balance sheet and income statement template (Excel) with a filled in duplex example.
Track rent in the same place: our rent ledger logs every payment, and a rent roll sums up all your units on one date.
Thinking about buying another rental? Use your yearly costs in our free cap rate calculator to compare properties.
Expenses more than your rent this year? See when a rental property loss is deductible.
Rental income and expense worksheet
The same free file works as a rental income and expense worksheet for the whole year, so you don’t need a separate form:
- Income: the Rent Log tab records every rent payment, late fee and other amount you receive.
- Expenses: the Expenses and Mileage tabs record every cost with its Schedule E category.
- Year totals: the Schedule E tab adds them up, with rent received for line 3 and each expense category for its own line.
At tax time you, or your tax preparer, copy the totals onto Schedule E. For a line by line walk through, see our Schedule E guide.
What counts as rental income on the worksheet?
IRS Publication 527 (2025) lists what landlords must count as rental income. Enter each of these on the Rent Log tab with a clear description, so the line 3 total is right:
| Money you receive | Count it as rental income? |
|---|---|
| Regular monthly rent | Yes, in the year you receive it (cash method) |
| Advance rent, such as last month’s rent paid at move in | Yes, in the year you receive it, whatever period it covers |
| A security deposit you plan to return | No |
| Part of a deposit you keep because the tenant broke the lease | Yes, in the year you keep it |
| A “security deposit” that will be used as the final month’s rent | Yes, it is advance rent, so count it when you receive it |
| A payment from the tenant to cancel the lease | Yes, it is rent |
| Your bills the tenant pays for you | Yes |
| Property or services you accept instead of rent | Yes, at fair market value |
Frequently asked questions
Can I deduct rental expenses while the unit is vacant?
Yes, if the property is held out for rent. IRS Publication 527 says you can deduct ordinary and necessary expenses while a rental is vacant and available, but you cannot deduct the rent you lost.
Is a spreadsheet good enough for the IRS?
Yes. The IRS does not require software. It requires records that show the amount, date and purpose of each expense, supported by receipts, bank statements or invoices.
Can I deduct my whole mortgage payment?
No. Only the interest (line 12) and, if paid through escrow, the property tax (line 16) and insurance (line 9). The principal is not deductible.
How long should I keep receipts?
Generally at least 3 years after you file the return. Keep records for the purchase price and improvements until at least 3 years after you file the return for the year you sell the property, because they set your basis.
Where do I put tenant screening costs?
Screening fees you pay yourself usually go on line 19, Other, with a short description such as tenant screening.
