What this line means
Materials and supplies used for the operation, maintenance, or upkeep of your rental property. This includes cleaning supplies, light bulbs, batteries, smoke detector batteries, furnace filters, small tools, and consumable items you provide for tenant use. For short-term rentals, this also covers toiletries, linens, kitchen essentials, and other guest amenities you restock regularly.
Does this apply to you?
- You buy cleaning supplies, light bulbs, or hardware for your rental property
- You stock a short-term rental with toiletries, paper products, and kitchen supplies
- You replace smoke detector batteries, furnace filters, or other consumables
- You purchase small tools or maintenance items for property upkeep
Easy to overlook
Short-term rental amenity costs add up to a significant deduction If you run an Airbnb or similar short-term rental, the cost of restocking guest supplies — soap, shampoo, coffee, paper towels, trash bags, linens — is deductible on this line. A property with 100+ guest nights per year can easily generate $500-$1,500 in supply costs. Hosts who buy these items at grocery stores often do not track them as rental expenses. 1 IRS Publication 527 — Residential Rental Property
Smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector supplies are required and deductible Replacement batteries, new detectors, and testing equipment for required safety devices are deductible supplies. Many states mandate annual testing and replacement schedules. These small costs are easy to forget at tax time, but they are legitimate deductions. 2 General filing pattern — short-term rental supply costs not tracked
Watch out for this
Putting large equipment purchases on this line. Supplies are consumable items used up within a year. A $50 box of furnace filters is a supply. A $600 power washer or $800 lawn mower is equipment that should be depreciated on line 18 or expensed under the de minimis safe harbor if under $2,500.
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, Operating Expenses. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p527.pdf ↩