Rental Real Estate Income

Rent you recognize during the year for each property under your accounting method is entered in the appropriate column of Schedule E, on Line 3. For most taxpayers, this means all rent received during the calendar year, whether it's received directly or indirectly (for example, if your tenant makes repairs for you in exchange for a rent credit, or pays some tax, utility, or repair bills you owe under the terms of the lease).

If you receive a security deposit, it doesn't count as rent unless and until you determine that you're entitled to keep some of the deposit because your tenant violated the lease or damaged your property in some way. Also, if your tenant buys out the remainder of the lease term with a cash payment, the payment counts as rent. However, if you receive some rent in advance of when it's due, you must count it as income regardless of your accounting method.

If you are leasing the property with an option to buy, the payments you receive are considered rent. If and when the tenant exercises the option to buy, payments received after the date of the sale would be considered part of the selling price.