Where do I put rental property mortgage interest and real estate taxes on my tax return?

The deduction section asking about primary or secondary homes is for personal residences only, not rental properties. Since you've already entered the mortgage interest and property taxes on Schedule E for your rental, you don't need to enter them again as itemized deductions. For rental properties, these expenses are only reported on Schedule E where they offset your rental income. This is actually better tax-wise since Schedule E expenses directly reduce your rental income dollar-for-dollar, while itemized deductions are subject to various limitations. The mortgage interest and property tax questions in the deduction section are asking about your own personal residence (whether it's your primary home or a second home like a vacation property that you don't rent out).

I was super confused about this exact same thing last year! I ended up using https://taxr.ai which helped me figure out where everything goes. It looked at my mortgage statements and property tax docs and told me exactly which forms they belonged on. Saved me from accidentally double-counting my rental expenses which could have triggered an audit. The software literally walks you through what goes where and explains why - for example, it showed me that rental property expenses are business deductions on Schedule E, while personal residence expenses are itemized deductions on Schedule A. I never understood that distinction before!

Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and it was super helpful! I uploaded my mortgage statements and property tax bills, and it immediately identified which ones were for my rental property versus my primary home. Gave me clear instructions about putting the rental expenses ONLY on Schedule E and my primary home expenses on Schedule A if I'm itemizing. Even pointed out that I could deduct points paid for refinancing my rental property (which I totally would have missed). Definitely using this again next year when I file!

If you're still confused about your rental property taxes after getting help here, you might want to talk directly to an IRS agent. I struggled for hours trying to figure this out last year and finally used https://claimyr.com to get through to the IRS without waiting. You can see a demo of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was about to give up after being on hold for 2+ hours, but Claimyr got me through to an actual IRS specialist who confirmed exactly how to handle rental property expenses. They verified that mortgage interest and property taxes for rentals go ONLY on Schedule E, and explained the whole Schedule A vs Schedule E distinction that was confusing me.

I owe everyone here an apology. After being skeptical, I decided to try Claimyr because I was absolutely stuck with a rental property question that nobody could answer. I had three different tax preparers give me three different answers about how to handle mortgage interest for a property that was part rental and part personal use. I was connected to an IRS tax law specialist within a couple hours - while I was at the gym! The agent walked me through exactly how to allocate the expenses between Schedule E and Schedule A based on my specific usage percentages. Turns out all three preparers were partially wrong! Definitely worth it to get the official answer straight from the IRS.

Just want to add one important detail - if you converted your property from primary residence to rental during the tax year, you have to prorate the mortgage interest and property taxes based on time used as a rental vs. personal residence. H&R Block should walk you through this calculation if you indicate it was a mid-year conversion.

Anyone else notice that H&R Block's interview questions about rental properties are super confusing? I've been using them for 3 years and still get tripped up. I switched to TurboTax this year and their rental section is much clearer IMO.

Great discussion everyone! As someone who's been dealing with rental properties for several years, I can confirm what others have said - the mortgage interest and property taxes for your rental go ONLY on Schedule E, not in the itemized deductions section. The key thing to remember is that rental property expenses are considered business expenses that directly offset your rental income, while the mortgage interest deduction section you're seeing is specifically for personal residences (primary home or vacation home you personally use). One tip that might help: when H&R Block asks about "primary or secondary home" in the deductions section, think of it as asking about homes where YOU live, not homes you rent to others. Your rental property doesn't fit either category because it's an investment property, not a personal residence. You're doing it right by putting everything on Schedule E - don't second-guess yourself!