What this line means
Any ordinary and necessary rental expenses that do not fit on lines 5 through 18. You must list each expense type and amount separately. Common entries include telephone costs for the rental, homeowners association (HOA) dues, lock changes, permits, accounting software subscriptions, key services, and tenant background check fees. The expenses must be directly related to the rental activity.
Does this apply to you?
- You pay HOA or condo association dues on a rental property
- You paid for tenant screening, background checks, or credit reports
- You purchased a separate phone line or service for rental management
- You paid for rental-specific software, bookkeeping tools, or subscriptions
Easy to overlook
HOA dues on rental property are deductible Monthly HOA or condo association fees on a rental property are deductible as an “other expense” on line 19. For a property with $300/month HOA dues, that is $3,600 per year in deductible expenses. Landlords who own condos or townhomes in managed communities often overlook this deduction because they associate HOA dues with personal homeownership, not rental operations. 1 IRS Publication 527 — Residential Rental Property
Tenant screening costs are deductible even if the applicant is rejected Background check fees, credit report fees, and application processing costs are deductible whether or not the applicant becomes your tenant. A landlord who screens five applicants at $30 each and selects one tenant can deduct all $150. 2 General filing pattern — miscellaneous rental deductions missed
Watch out for this
Listing personal expenses as rental “other expenses.” A home office you use to manage rentals does not go on Schedule E — it goes on Form 8829 or Schedule C if you qualify as a real estate professional. Meals, clothing, and general living expenses are never rental deductions regardless of how you label them.
Footnotes
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IRS Publication 527, Residential Rental Property, Rental Expenses. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p527.pdf ↩
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IRS Publication 527, Residential Rental Property, Other Expenses. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p527.pdf ↩