Recordkeeping 101: Real Estate Tax Planning for Landlords

If you are new to property management, the vast amount of paperwork that we, as landlords, encounter may be a little overwhelming. Even an experienced landlord can get frustrated with the paper trail needed for every tenant, business purchase and financial transaction related to the job.

To play it safe, keep the following records both for tax purposes and to keep tabs on tenants:

• Tax records for the past 7 years
• Maintenance schedules for all rental property organized by property and by type of work done
• Improvement schedules for all rental property organized by property and by type of completed project
• Building records, including original cost of the building, the mortgage and information about when the building was constructed
• Bills, receipts and invoices from all contractors, cleaning services or companies who have done work on the rental property
• Insurance policies for all rental property (organized by building)
• Tenant contact information, including telephone number, cell number and e-mail address
• Signed rental agreements and leases from all current tenants
• Financial information on disposition of all security deposits for current tenants
• Correspondence files with all letters, notices, legal actions and contact with current and former tenants