Residential property investors often rely on their CPAs to track and calculate depreciation across their portfolios, but sometimes you just need a quick and dirty number to help inform an important decision. So we built this handy rental property depreciation calculator just for you. It uses a MACRS table to calculate a full depreciation schedule,…
When someone first tipped you off that owning rental property comes with significant tax advantages, you may not have realized that it also comes with some scary math. CPAs love to talk about depreciation as if it’s some sort of magical black box that you need an advanced degree to unlock. While depreciation schedules can…
While there’s no shortage of vacation rental tax deductions available in 2025, finding your way through the thicket of confusing regulations and guidance can be tricky. In this timely article, we break down the most significant opportunities the typical short-term rental property owner can pursue to reduce tax liability. For our purposes here, we’ll assume…
As a real estate investor, one of the biggest decisions you’ll make is whether to self-manage your rental properties or hire a property manager. And one of the most important questions to research in advance of this decision is, how much do property managers charge? The right choice at each moment in your investing journey…
While this is clearly not an exhaustive list of all 1031 exchange rules, it’s a great place to start. Section 1031 of the tax code has been around for a long time and the IRS has provided various notices with highly specific guidance for specific edge case scenarios. You should definitely research these on your…
Separate Bank Accounts for Rental Properties Say what you want about the “sharing economy.” At the end of the day, your rental property activities constitute a business venture. Whether you rent out your home for a few weeks here and there or operate a growing portfolio of long-term rentals or Airbnbs, your tenants and guests…
It’s surprising how many real estate investors manage to get their rental property cost basis wrong. The first thing to know is that cost basis, adjusted cost basis, and depreciation basis are three different things. In this quick post, we help you understand the differences, show you how to assign closing costs properly, and offer…