Rental Income and Taxes

[Ashley Whidby]

Hello everyone! My question is about rental income and taxes. 

My tenant just moved in on October 1st and I want to be sure I am keeping all of the appropriate records for tax purposes. What records should I be keeping? Any suggestions for record keeping methods? I don't want to show up at tax time with a box of receipts and invoices. 

Also I don't have a CPA, so referral would be great?

What can I expect to be able to deduct from the rental income? 

I know mortgage interest, insurance, property taxes, maintenance expenses,  utilities (I cover the alarm monitoring), and depreciation. 

Thanks! 

[Brandon Hall]

@Natalie Kolodij thanks for the mention!

@Ashley Whidby you need to document EVERYTHING. If you listen to the BP Podcast show I was recently on (ep 196), toward the end of the show I quickly go over a super easy accounting method for small landlords. It's what I use and I love it.

All you have to do it set up a checking account per property and make sure every single transaction related to that property passes through that bank account. Then, toward the middle of December, spend an hour reconciling everything and creating a financial statement. It's so freakin easy and will save you so much time and headache.