Schedule E changes for landlords, tax year 2025

• The standard mileage rate for rental driving rose to 70 cents a mile.
• 100% special depreciation is back for qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025. Property placed in service January 1 to 19, 2025, or acquired before January 20 and placed in service later, stays on the old phase-down rates.
• Section 179 allows up to $2,500,000, reduced once Section 179 property placed in service passes $4,000,000.
• Lines 12 and 13: rental real estate interest can be limited under section 163(j), and for 2025 depreciation, amortization and depletion are added back to adjusted taxable income (Form 8990).
• Personal-use car loan interest goes on Schedule 1-A; only the business share belongs on Schedule E.

The IRS draft 2026 Schedule E (created May 6, 2026) splits line 13 into 13a vehicle loan and 13b other. On the 2025 form line 13 was a single “Other interest” line. Instructions for the new line are not yet published.

The acquisition date of each improvement now decides its bonus rate, so ask for contracts and invoices, not just the date the work finished. A mileage log matters more at 70 cents a mile.

Landlords who keep each property as a class or location in HelloBooks give you a per-property income and expense report at year-end, and the bills sit with the transactions they paid.