Rental Property Schedule for your tax return
The rental property schedule we use to prepare Item 21 (Rent) of an Australian tax return, as a free fillable PDF. One form per property. Enter amounts for the whole property and the totals, net rent and gearing calculate inside the form. Below, every section is explained in the order it appears.
3 pages, opens in Adobe Reader or Preview. Email the completed form with photos or PDFs of each document to info@taxtracker.com.au.
Anyone with an interest in a rental property
If you owned or part-owned a property that was rented, or genuinely available for rent, at any time between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, the return needs a rental schedule for it. That includes a house you moved out of and rented for part of the year, a unit held with a partner or sibling, and a property that was sold during the year. The property manager's annual statement is a start, but it only knows about the money that passed through the agent. This form collects the rest: loan interest, rates you paid directly, insurance, land tax, levies, depreciation, ownership shares and private-use weeks.
The eleven sections, in the order they appear
Client and property
Your name as it appears on the return, the income year, and the property's street address and type. Name the managing agent if there is one. We match the address to the agent's statement and to the ATO's property records.
Ownership
As shown on the title. Shares must total 100%.
Income and most expenses are split by legal interest, not by who paid. Two names on the title as joint tenants means 50/50 whatever the bank account arrangements. Enter every owner and their share, and enter the money figures for the whole property. We apply your share when preparing the return.
Rental period and use
The date it first earned rent, weeks rented, weeks available for rent, and any days of private use. Available for rent means listed at a market rent with a real intention to let, not a holiday house blocked out for family. The two yes/no questions, full market rate and related party, decide whether expenses are limited to the rent received.
Purchase, sale and building
Purchase date and price, stamp duty and legal costs, the year construction was completed, and whether you hold a quantity surveyor depreciation report. Stamp duty is not deductible but it sits in the cost base for capital gains tax, so we record it now rather than hunting for it in the year you sell. If the property was sold this year, add the sale date and price and send the contract and settlement statement.
Income
Gross rent is the total before agent fees, from the agent's annual statement, not the net amount deposited. Other rental income covers bond money kept, insurance payouts for lost rent, letting fee reimbursements and rental incentives.
Expenses
Nineteen heads, each with what to include. The table below is the same list.
Enter each head at 100% of the property. Leave a head blank if nothing was paid. The two heads people most often get wrong are interest, where a private redraw must be carved out, and repairs, where improvements and initial repairs belong in capital works instead.
Net rent and gearing
Calculates automatically.
Total income less total expenses. A negative figure is a rental loss, and whether that loss can offset your wages depends on when the property was acquired. See the 2026 Budget note further down.
Loans
One line per loan, from the year-end loan statement.
Lender, last four digits of the account, interest-only or principal and interest, balance at 30 June, interest charged for the year, the percentage used for the rental, and whether there was a private redraw. A refinance or a top-up during the year needs the settlement letter so we can trace what the new money was used for.
Documents provided
Tick each document you are sending.
Declaration
You declare the figures are true and that you hold records for each amount. The ATO can ask for them for five years after lodgement, and purchase and capital works records until five years after the property is sold.
Rental expense heads and what goes in each
The same wording as the form. Principal repayments, stamp duty, improvements and your own labour are not on the list because they are not deductible in the year, or at all.
| Head | What to include |
|---|---|
| Advertising for tenants | Advertising to find tenants. |
| Body corporate fees and charges | Admin and general fund levies. Special levies for capital works are not included here. |
| Borrowing expenses | Loan establishment, mortgage registration, valuation, lenders mortgage insurance. Over $100 is spread over 5 years or the loan term if shorter. |
| Cleaning | While the property is rented or available for rent. |
| Council rates | Council rate notices for the year. |
| Capital allowances (depreciation on plant) | Per the quantity surveyor report. Second-hand plant in residential property bought after 9 May 2017 is generally excluded. |
| Gardening and lawn mowing | Garden and lawn upkeep. |
| Insurance | Building, contents and landlord insurance. |
| Interest on loans | Rental loan only. Exclude any redraw used for private purposes. |
| Land tax | State land tax assessment for this property. |
| Legal fees | For example evicting a tenant or recovering rent. Not purchase or sale legal fees. |
| Pest control | Pest inspections and treatment. |
| Property agent fees and commission | Management, letting and lease renewal fees. |
| Repairs and maintenance | Restoring to original condition. Not improvements, and not repairs to defects that existed at purchase. |
| Capital works deductions | Building and structural costs, usually 2.5% a year, per the quantity surveyor report. |
| Stationery, telephone and postage | Costs of managing the rental. |
| Travel expenses | Residential property: generally not deductible from 1 July 2017. |
| Water charges | Water and sewerage charges not recovered from the tenant. |
| Sundry rental expenses | Smoke alarm service, bank fees, the tax agent fee for the rental. List these in the notes. |
From 1 July 2027 a rental loss on an established property bought after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 can only be used against income from residential property, with unused losses carried forward. Property held before that night, and new builds bought after it, keep the full deduction against wages. The purchase date in section 5 is how we tell which group yours is in. Read the full negative gearing explainer.
Rental schedule questions we get every July
It is the part of your tax return that reports each rental property's income and expenses, head by head, at your ownership share. In the individual return it sits at Item 21, Rent. The ATO requires a separate schedule for every property, which is why our form is one per property.
Practitioner-prepared by Zaki Choudhry, Registered Tax Agent (TAN 26298664), for the income year ending 30 June 2026. The form collects information to prepare your return; deductions depend on the facts and records for each property, and every figure is reviewed before lodgement. For your own situation, see the personal tax service or call (03) 8732 2126. Reviewed annually.