Reference

Real estate tax forms

The paperwork behind every strategy in the kit. Each card says what the form covers, who files it, when it is due, and the mistake it most often causes. Tick off the ones you understand as you go.

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Form 1040

U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

Rental income and expenses

The main return every individual taxpayer files. Rental results, property sales, and credits all flow onto this one page from the schedules behind it.

Who files it: Any individual required to file a federal return.
When to file: Due April 15 for the prior calendar year (October 15 with an extension to file).

Watch out: An extension moves the paperwork deadline, not the payment deadline. Tax owed is still due in April.

Schedule E (Form 1040)

Supplemental Income and Loss

Rental income and expenses

Rent collected and ordinary rental expenses — mortgage interest, taxes, insurance, repairs, management, and depreciation — for each property you hold as a rental.

Who files it: Owners of residential or commercial rentals, plus partners and S-corporation shareholders reporting K-1 income.
When to file: Filed with your Form 1040 each year.

Watch out: One column per property, not one lump sum. Personal-use days and passive loss limits can cut the deductible loss you report here.

Schedule C (Form 1040)

Profit or Loss From Business

Rental income and expenses

Short-term rentals with substantial services (hotel-style cleaning, meals, concierge) and real-estate businesses such as agenting, flipping, or property management.

Who files it: Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs running an active real-estate business.
When to file: Filed with your Form 1040 each year.

Watch out: Profit here is subject to self-employment tax. Most straightforward rentals belong on Schedule E instead.

Form 8582

Passive Activity Loss Limitations

Rental income and expenses

How much of a rental loss you can use this year and how much gets suspended and carried forward.

Who files it: Anyone with rental or other passive losses that exceed passive income.
When to file: Attached to your Form 1040 for any year with passive losses.

Watch out: Suspended losses are not lost — they wait. Track the carryforward so it is available when you sell.

Form 4562

Depreciation and Amortization

Selling, exchanging, and depreciating

New assets placed in service, depreciation method and recovery period, bonus depreciation, and Section 179 elections.

Who files it: Anyone placing property or improvements in service during the year, or claiming a Section 179 or bonus election.
When to file: Filed with the return that reports the property's income.

Watch out: Land is never depreciated. Splitting land from building at purchase sets your write-off for decades.

Form 4797

Sales of Business Property

Selling, exchanging, and depreciating

Gain or loss on selling rental or business real estate, including depreciation recapture taxed at its own rate.

Who files it: Owners who sell, exchange, or dispose of rental or business property.
When to file: Filed with your return for the year of the sale.

Watch out: Recapture applies to depreciation you were allowed to take — even if you never claimed it.

Schedule D (Form 1040)

Capital Gains and Losses

Selling, exchanging, and depreciating

Long- and short-term capital gains, including the capital portion of a property sale after Form 4797 sorts it out.

Who files it: Anyone with a capital gain or loss for the year.
When to file: Filed with your Form 1040 each year.

Watch out: Holding longer than a year usually means a lower rate. Closing a day early can be an expensive mistake.

Form 8824

Like-Kind Exchanges

Selling, exchanging, and depreciating

A 1031 exchange: the property given up, the replacement bought, any boot received, and the carried-over basis.

Who files it: Investors completing a like-kind exchange of investment or business real estate.
When to file: Filed with the return for the year the relinquished property was transferred — even if the exchange closed the following year.

Watch out: The 45-day identification and 180-day closing clocks start at the sale and cannot be extended.

Form 8949

Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets

Selling, exchanging, and depreciating

The line-by-line detail of each disposition — dates, proceeds, basis, and adjustments — that totals onto Schedule D.

Who files it: Anyone reporting capital asset sales, including investment land and securities.
When to file: Filed with Schedule D and your Form 1040.

Watch out: Basis reported to you can be wrong or incomplete. Adjust it here rather than accept it.

Forms 8996 and 8997

Qualified Opportunity Fund and Investor Statement

Selling, exchanging, and depreciating

Certification of a Qualified Opportunity Fund (8996) and an investor's deferred gains and QOF holdings (8997).

Who files it: Opportunity-zone funds and the investors who hold interests in them.
When to file: Filed annually with the fund's or investor's return while the investment is held.

Watch out: Form 8997 is required every year you hold the investment, not only in the year you invest.

Form 1065

U.S. Return of Partnership Income

Business and entity returns

The return for a partnership or multi-member LLC holding property — the entity reports, the partners pay.

Who files it: Partnerships, multi-member LLCs, and most real-estate syndications.
When to file: Due March 15 for a calendar-year partnership (September 15 with an extension).

Watch out: Late partnership returns carry a penalty per partner per month. Big partnerships get expensive fast.

Schedule K-1

Partner's or Shareholder's Share of Income

Business and entity returns

Your slice of an entity's income, deductions, depreciation, and distributions, ready to carry onto your personal return.

Who files it: Issued by partnerships, S corporations, and trusts to each owner or beneficiary.
When to file: Sent to owners by the entity's filing deadline; used on your Form 1040 for the same tax year.

Watch out: Syndication K-1s often arrive late. Plan on an extension rather than filing and amending.

Form 1120-S

U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation

Business and entity returns

An S corporation's income and deductions — common for active real-estate businesses, rarely a good fit for holding appreciating property.

Who files it: Corporations and LLCs that elected S-corporation treatment.
When to file: Due March 15 for a calendar-year S corporation (September 15 with an extension).

Watch out: Owner-employees must take reasonable wages, and moving appreciated property out of a corporation can trigger tax.

Form 8995 / 8995-A

Qualified Business Income Deduction

Business and entity returns

The QBI deduction of up to 20% of qualifying rental or business income, with wage and property limits at higher incomes.

Who files it: Individuals with pass-through business or qualifying rental income.
When to file: Filed with your Form 1040.

Watch out: Rentals need to rise to a trade or business (or meet the safe harbor) to qualify. Keep the hour logs.