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Budget for every cost you will pay to buy, own, lease, and maintain the specific rental—not just the mortgage. Include taxes, insurance, association fees, owner-paid utilities, maintenance, repairs, leasing or management, vacancy, and irregular replacements. Use local bills and quotes to estimate amounts; there is no universal percentage that reliably covers every property.
Start with the costs of acquiring and financing the property
- Mortgage payment: Include the full payment in your cash-flow plan, but track principal and interest separately. Both require cash; they do not have interchangeable tax treatment.
- Loan and closing costs: Include applicable financing charges and closing expenses in the cash needed to acquire the property. Their tax treatment can differ from their cash-budget treatment.
- Work before renting: Allow for initial repairs, safety improvements, furnishings, or equipment needed to make the property ready. Keep these startup costs distinct from ongoing operating expenses.
Fannie Mae includes mortgage-related costs and taxes in its rental-property budgeting guidance. The IRS lists mortgage interest and taxes among common rental expenses in Publication 527.
List the recurring costs you will actually pay
Responsibility depends on the property, lease, and local rules. Add a cost when you are responsible for paying it; do not assume every rental has every item.
- Property taxes and local assessments: Start with the current bill, then check whether an assessment or likely change affects your estimate.
- Insurance: Get a landlord-property insurance quote and consider liability coverage and optional loss-of-rent protection. Compare the premium, deductible, coverage, and exclusions.
- Association charges: Include HOA, condominium, or other association fees where applicable.
- Owner-paid utilities and services: Depending on the lease and setup, these may include water, sewer, electricity, gas, trash, internet, or common-area service.
- Regular upkeep: Account for landscaping, pest control, cleaning, inspections, and routine maintenance.
For utility estimates, Fannie Mae suggests using information from the previous owner or local utility company. Verify that any seller-provided history reflects the service arrangement you expect to use.
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Budget for leasing, management, and professional help
- Finding and placing tenants: Include advertising or listing charges, tenant screening, placement or leasing commissions, and the costs of preparing the property between tenants.
- Property management: If you hire a manager, request a local quote and check what the fee covers. Leasing, turnover, rent collection, and other services may be charged separately.
- Repairs and service calls: Allow for contractor labor, supplies, and recurring service visits.
- Professional services: Add legal, accounting, bookkeeping, or other professional fees when you expect to need them.
- Travel or vehicle costs: Include them only when they are genuinely relevant, trackable, and handled under applicable tax rules.
Fannie Mae recommends asking local property management companies for rates. Actual quotes are more useful than assuming a standard fee.
Make vacancy, turnover, and replacement reserves visible
When a property is vacant, rent may stop while bills continue. Loan payments, taxes, insurance, owner-paid utilities, and services such as lawn or snow care may still be due. A vacancy budget should account for both the rent you may not collect and the expenses you will continue to pay.
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Keep separate lines for vacancy, tenant turnover, routine maintenance, and major replacements. Turnover may involve cleaning, paint, lock changes, and new leasing costs. For larger repairs or replacements, consider the property’s inspection findings, age, condition, maintenance history, warranties, and known upcoming work. Set an emergency buffer that reflects your finances and the property’s condition.
Fannie Mae advises owners to consider a vacancy set-aside and identifies loss-of-rent insurance as a possible budget item. Neither source establishes a universal vacancy rate or maintenance percentage; estimate these risks for the property rather than relying on a generic rule.
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Build an estimate from property-specific evidence
- Gather documents and quotes. Use current tax bills and assessments, association statements, insurance quotes, utility-provider estimates or prior bills, maintenance records, and contractor estimates. Ask the seller for expense history, then verify it where possible.
- Check who pays each bill. Review the lease arrangement you expect to use and identify landlord-paid utilities and services. Note whether each cost continues during vacancy.
- Request local service rates. Ask prospective managers about management and leasing charges, and obtain estimates from contractors or other service providers for work the property may need.
- Record each expense separately. For every budget row, note the expected amount, timing, estimate source, who pays, whether it continues during vacancy, and actual amount paid.
- Keep irregular cash needs visible. Separate routine operating costs from vacancy and turnover allowances, and from reserves for major work or replacement.
- Calculate both annual and monthly views. Add the annual costs and divide by 12 for a monthly planning figure, but preserve the timing of each bill. Annual taxes and repairs do not arrive evenly through the year.
A rental expense ledger or spreadsheet organized by property and category can make estimates easier to compare with actual bills. The IRS recommends keeping records of rental income and expenses; see its rental real estate recordkeeping guidance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Keep the cash-flow budget separate from the tax schedule
A cash-flow budget answers how much money the property may require and when. A tax schedule answers how rental income and expenses are treated under applicable tax rules. The two are related, but they are not the same: depreciation is a non-cash tax expense, while mortgage principal is a cash payment distinct from mortgage interest.
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The IRS says, “In most cases, the expenses of renting your property, such as maintenance, insurance, taxes, and interest, can be deducted from your rental income.” Publication 527 (2025), Residential Rental Property lists common categories including advertising, cleaning and maintenance, commissions, depreciation, insurance, interest, legal and professional fees, management fees, repairs, taxes, and utilities. That general rule does not decide how a particular expense should be treated.
The IRS distinguishes repairs from capital expenses and explains that expenses may need to be divided between rental and personal use when a property is used both ways. Treatment can depend on the tax year, accounting method, type of work, personal use, and taxpayer circumstances. Check current IRS rules or consult a qualified tax professional. This guidance is U.S.-focused; landlords elsewhere should use their local tax authority’s rules.
Quick Recap
What not to assume
- Do not treat a rule of thumb as a quote. A “50% rule” or other ratio is not a guaranteed estimate of a property’s operating costs. Use bills, inspection findings, records, and local quotes instead.
- Do not treat gross rent as spendable cash. Vacancy and owner-paid costs reduce the cash available for debt payments or distributions.
- Do not treat a deduction as a reimbursement. Tax treatment does not make a repair or replacement economically free.
- Do not assume local rules are uniform. Landlord-tenant requirements, permitted charges, insurance availability, utility billing, and local taxes vary by location.
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