Free Rental Property Income & Expense Spreadsheet

How to fill in the rental property spreadsheet

Open the CSV in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, delete the three rows marked EXAMPLE, and add one row for each transaction.

Date

The date the money actually moved: the day rent cleared, the day you paid the plumber. Use one format throughout (2026-01-09 sorts correctly in every program).

Property

Use the same short name for each property every time (“Main St A”, “Elm duplex”). If an expense covers a whole building, such as a water bill or insurance on a duplex, name the building. Schedule E needs a column per property, so this is what lets you split totals later.

Category

Pick one category from the list on the form, spelled the same way every time. The ones landlords mix up:

• Repairs vs. improvements. Fixing a leaking faucet is a repair. Replacing the roof or the furnace is usually an improvement that gets depreciated over years, not deducted at once. Log big items under “Other” with a note and ask your tax preparer.
• Cleaning and maintenance vs. repairs. Routine upkeep (lawn care, pest control, turnover cleaning) goes under cleaning and maintenance. Fixing something broken goes under repairs.
• Mortgage payment. Only the interest is deductible. Use the year-end Form 1098 for the interest total rather than logging each monthly payment.

Description, income and expense

Say what it was in a few words (“Jan rent Unit A”, “Replaced kitchen faucet cartridge”). Put money received in Income and money spent in Expense, never both on one row. Late fees and pet rent are income and go under rents received.

Payment method and receipt saved

Record how you paid and tick the receipt box once you’ve saved a copy. At year end, filter for blank receipt cells and find the missing ones while you still can.

A worked example

Say you own a duplex in Columbus with rents of $1,650 and $1,425. Over a year, the income column totals $36,900 (12 months each, with no vacancy). The expense column shows $2,600 in property taxes, $1,700 for insurance, $1,450 in repairs, $900 in water and trash, and $350 in supplies. That’s $7,000 before mortgage interest and depreciation, leaving $29,900, and each total goes on its own Schedule E line.

State and local items to track

Some costs and obligations are set by state or local law, so give them their own rows:

• Deposit interest you pay tenants. Massachusetts (5% a year or the bank rate if lower), Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Minnesota (1%) and Connecticut require interest on deposits. Log it as an expense when you pay or credit it.
• Deposits you keep. When you keep part of a deposit for unpaid rent or damage, record that amount as income in the year you keep it.
• Lead and rental registration costs. New Jersey requires lead-safe certification for most pre-1978 rentals, and Maryland requires pre-1978 rentals to be registered with the state environment department. Log inspection and registration fees under “Other” or “Legal and other professional fees”.
• Local rental licenses. Many cities charge an annual rental license or registration fee. These usually go under taxes or other.

Mistakes to avoid

• Mixing personal and rental spending. Use a separate bank account or card for the rentals.
• Logging deposits as income. Track them on the rent roll instead.
• Saving it all for April. Fifteen minutes every couple of weeks beats a weekend of bank statements.
• No receipts. A spreadsheet entry without a receipt is weak support if the IRS asks.
• One giant “Other” category. If more than a few percent of your expenses land there, split them out.