1. Your transactions and your rules
Needs a date, a description and an amount (or debit and credit) column; a property column is used when present. Column names are matched by alias and are unverified against real bank exports: if a file is not read, the page says which rows were skipped and why. Money in should be positive; tick the box below for a card export that lists charges as positive.
Choose the export file or paste it, then click Categorize.
Result
By property, by Schedule E line
Not categorised
Add a “keyword => category” rule for each and click Categorize again. Category names you can use: .
| Date | Description | Amount |
|---|
Repair-like items that may need capitalising
| Date | Description | Amount | Why flagged |
|---|
The model, and what it leaves out
- Lines: rents are line 3; expenses use lines 5 to 19 of Schedule E, Part I as printed on the form (check the form for your year). Built-in keyword rules are conservative: a description that could fit two lines is left uncategorised rather than guessed.
- Held out, on purpose: mortgage payments (only the interest is deductible, and it comes from the figure you type from Form 1098), capital improvements, transfers between your own accounts (also paired automatically when an equal and opposite row appears within three days), security deposits and owner draws.
- Repairs versus improvements: the tool flags items over your threshold and items worded like a replacement or remodel. It does not decide; whether an item is a repair, an improvement or covered by a safe-harbor election is for you and your preparer.
- Rent checks: a month with no rent deposit between a property's first and last rent is listed. A vacancy, a late payer or a different account all look the same in a file.
- Reconciles. Line items add to each property's expenses, properties add to the totals at the top, and the full transaction CSV lists every row with the rule that decided it.
- Not modelled: depreciation (line 18), partial-year and personal use, shared costs split across properties, expenses paid in cash or from another account, income reported on a 1099-K or 1099-MISC that differs from deposits, passive-loss and qualified-business-income rules, and state rules.
- Unverified: column names are matched by alias and no real bank export was available when this was written.
Common questions
How do I get my rental income and expenses onto Schedule E from a bank statement?
Export the year's transactions as CSV from each bank or card account you use for the rental, drop them in here, and add a “keyword => category” rule for anything the built-in rules do not know. The tool sorts every transaction into a Schedule E, Part I line (rents on line 3, advertising line 5, repairs line 14, and so on), shows totals per property, and lists what it could not categorise. You still enter the totals on the form or give them to your preparer.
Is a mortgage payment deductible?
Only the interest part. Principal is not an expense, and an escrowed payment also carries property tax and insurance. That is why mortgage payments are held out of the totals until you type the year's interest for each property from the lender's Form 1098. The tool then shows how much of the payments was principal and escrow.
What is the difference between a repair and an improvement?
A repair keeps the property in ordinary working order and is deducted in the year paid on line 14. An improvement that betters, restores or adapts the property is capitalised and depreciated over years. The tool flags anything over your threshold or worded like a replacement or remodel, such as a new roof, so you can ask your preparer; it does not decide. A de minimis safe-harbor election may allow deducting small items up to a per-item limit.
Does it handle more than one property?
Yes. Add a property column to your export, or write “keyword => property name” rules that match the description, for example a street address in the payee text. Totals, line items, interest and missing-rent checks are then per property, which is how Schedule E is filed.
What does it flag?
Transactions it could not categorise, mortgage payments with no interest typed, repair-like items that may be improvements, months with no rent deposit between a property's first and last rent, possible duplicate rows from overlapping exports, transfers between your own accounts, and security deposits, which are neither income nor expense.
Which files does it read?
Comma, semicolon or tab separated text, including UTF-16 files, with dollar signs, parentheses for negatives and thousands separators. A single amount column or separate debit and credit columns, and a tick box for card exports that list charges as positive numbers. Columns are matched by alias and no real bank export was available when this was written, so the aliases are unverified; a file that is not read says which rows were skipped and why.
Is my bank data uploaded?
No. The file is read in this browser tab and never leaves your device. There are no accounts, cookies or analytics vendors, and no bank login is asked for.