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The Daily Insight

Can you write off maintenance on a rental property?

Author

Henry Morales

Published Apr 06, 2026

You can deduct the costs of certain materials, supplies, repairs, and maintenance that you make to your rental property to keep your property in good operating condition. When you include the fair market value of the property or services in your rental income, you can deduct that same amount as a rental expense.

Does sale of rental property go on Schedule D?

You must also file IRS Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses with your return. If you reported a gain in Part 1 of your Form 4797, transfer that number to line 11 of Schedule D as a long-term capital gain.

How much should you set aside for maintenance on a rental property?

Methods to allocate your maintenance budget The 50% rule suggests that total operating expenses may amount up to 50% of the income your rental property generates. For instance, a monthly rent of $1,000 may incur about $500 as maintenance costs. The 1% rule considers the annual property value.

Do you have to pay taxes on rental income?

You will also have to pay taxes on the income you receive from collecting rent . However, as a landlord or property owner, there are many tax deductions you can take advantage of.

Do you have to maintain your property as a landlord?

The legal obligations landlords have to keep their property in shape. The landlord-tenant law requires landlords to maintain their rental property. Although the specific requirements will differ slightly by state, there are general responsibilities that all landlords will have.

How to reduce your tax exposure when selling a rental property?

What You Get: The ability to subtract those losses from the capital gains realized from the rental property sale An effective way to reduce your tax exposure when selling a rental property is to pair the gain from the sale with a loss in another area of your investments.

Can a taxpayer use more than one rental property?

Residential rental property can include a single house, apartment, condominium, mobile home, vacation home or similar property. These properties are often referred to as dwellings. Taxpayers renting property can use more than one dwelling as a residence during the year.