Rental Property Tax Return Preparation

By Jason Watson, CPA

We get asked often, “What do you need to prepare my rental property tax returns?” Or, “what should I be recording or keeping track of throughout the year?” We created a template called the Simplified Rental Operations (SRO) Worksheet. While spreadsheets and templates are only meaningful to the spreadsheet designer, you might find value and some helpful hints.

Here is the link to our SRO-

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Here is also a checklist of all the things we need beyond revenue and expenses for the preparation of your individual tax returns (Form 1040) including your Schedule E rental property activities-

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This assumes you are reporting your rental properties on your individual tax returns. If you are leveraging a multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership where your activities are reported on Form 8825, here is our business entity tax return checklist-

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Even if you don’t use WCG CPAs & Advisors, you might find these tools helpful.

WCG Fee Structure

We pride ourselves on being transparent and having a simple fee structure. Most business services and tax returns will fit into the fees described below. Sure, there’s always the outlier or the unusual situation, but the following information gives you an idea of our philosophy. We only have time on this earth to sell, and we cannot inventory it. Our fees are an attempt to coincide with expected time spent and the value received.

Individual Tax Prep

Our starting fee is $800 for standalone jointly-filed individual tax returns (Form 1040). Most are $800 to $1,000. However, we also have FasTrac 1040 at $525 and a fee range of $250 to $400 for children and students depending on your tax footprint.

Small Biz, LLCs, Rentals Tax Prep

Small businesses are commonly reported on your individual tax return on Schedule C. Rental activities are reported on Schedule E. Typical fee range is $800 to $1,000 for those with 1-2 rentals or one side business.

Some things to keep in mind-

• At times we have a rental setup fee ($150 to $500) when we need to bring in prior depreciation and build out asset listings. We try to avoid nickels and dimes, but at the same time maintaining this history especially with 1031 like-kind exchanges is important.
• Cost segregation studies require additional asset entries with our typical set up fee being $300 to $500 depending on complexity.
• Additional state tax returns range from $150 to $250. For example, you live in Colorado and have a rental property in California. You will need to file a California non-resident tax return even if the rental loses money. You have an income-generating asset in their state, and they have the right to inspect your books and records to ensure your loss is truly a loss.

Partnerships, Real Estate Hold Co

Our starting fee is $1,500 for partnership (Form 1065) and corporate tax returns (Form 1120 and 1120S) depending on the quality of your accounting records (most are $1,500 to $1,800).

However, for rental property holding companies filing a partnership tax return, our fees are reduced to $1,000 to $1,200.

Business Formation

We can create a business or a real estate holding company for $625 plus the state filing fees. Includes Articles and employer identification number (EIN). Please visit our most current fee structure.

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