Section 01
The part most templates flatten to one row
Most rental spreadsheets depreciate a building as a single straight-line entry: purchase price minus land, divided by 27.5, done. That row is correct and incomplete.
The workbook models depreciation the way IRS Pub 946 actually structures it: a 27.5-year building shell plus 5-year personal property, 7-year fixtures, and 15-year land improvements, each with its own Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) declining-balance schedule, each tested against the §168(k) bonus rules as amended in 2025 (acquisition date gates the rate; pre-cutoff acquisitions phase down by placed-in-service year). Per property, per component, flowing onto Schedule E the way the forms do.
Every formula is visible. Two hidden reference sheets carry the IRS source tables: the Pub 946 MACRS percentages and the federal brackets, standard deductions, Social Security wage base, and 1040-ES due dates for tax years 2024 through 2026. Unhide them and check the numbers the workbook uses. That is the design principle throughout: every number is traceable, and if a number matters, you can follow it from input to form line.
The recommended working order: property inputs, then the Depreciation Schedule, then the Schedule E Rollup, then the Quarterly Estimator, then the Dashboard.
Section 02
What's in the file
Twelve working tabs, a Start Here cover, and one input tab per property (up to ten in the Multi-Property workbook). The Property Roster is the hub; the Dashboard is the rollup.
| Tab | What it does |
|---|---|
| Property Roster | The navigation hub. One row per property; click through to each property's input tab. |
| Property 1 through 10 | Everything for one property in one place: identity, basis, dates, operating expenses, cost-seg components. |
| Owner Profile | Filing status, W-2 and investment income, set once. |
| Depreciation Schedule | The per-component breakout above, per property. |
| Schedule-E Rollup | An IRS Schedule E Part I mirror, print-ready for the CPA conversation at filing time. |
| STR vs LTR Comparator | A property as short-term rental versus long-term rental, side by side, with the material-participation logic under §469 that drives the treatment. |
| 1031 Exchange Planner | The 45-day identification and 180-day closing clocks, boot calculation, carryover basis into the replacement property. |
| Quarterly Tax Estimator | Filing-status-aware bracket walk with safe-harbor status: the lesser of 110% of last year's total tax (100% when prior-year AGI is $150,000 or less) or 90% of the current-year projection. |
| Sole-Prop Schedule-C | An IRS Schedule C Part II mirror with Self-Employment (SE) tax, the Social Security wage-base cap surfaced explicitly, and the Form 8959 Additional Medicare Tax block. |
| Mileage & Home-Office | Standard versus actual mileage and simplified versus actual home office, cross-wired to Schedule C. |
| Year-by-Year Cash Flow | Five-year forward projection with assumption controls. |
| Dashboard | The owner-level aggregate: Schedule E net, cost-seg differential, SE tax, §1411 Net Investment Income Tax, §199A Qualified Business Income deduction, aggregate taxable income, safe-harbor required annual payment. |
| Changelog | Version history and the full disclaimer block. |
The workbook ships blank. The included playbook (a PDF written the way an opinionated CPA would write it) walks a complete worked example, the Birchwood Duplex in Asheville NC, through every tab before you enter your own numbers.
Section 03
A file you own
- One-time download. It opens in Excel or Google Sheets, works offline, and still works next April.
- This edition includes the 2026 release file. An optional annual renewal is available for the next year's release: updated brackets from the new Rev. Proc., updated wage base, updated mileage rate, updated Pub 946 tables if statute shifts. Opt-in, charged only when you choose it.
- Decline the renewal and the file keeps working. The brackets simply grow stale, and your CPA will tell you when that matters.
- In Excel, every tab is protected with only the input cells unlocked, so a stray keystroke cannot break a calculation. One convention everywhere: bronze underline means you enter a value; everything else is computed. (Google Sheets drops Excel's cell protection on import. The workbook still computes correctly there; the playbook covers what to watch for.)
- Hand it to your CPA. Forwarding your file to your tax preparer for filing review is expected use. The license is one copy per purchaser.
Section 04
Three versions
| Single-Property | Multi-Property | Pro Version | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Properties | 1 (long-term-rental mode) | up to 10, LTR and STR | up to 50, LTR and STR |
| Depreciation | 27.5-year straight-line shell, mid-month convention, final-year half-month residual surfaced | per-component MACRS engine (27.5 shell + 5/7/15-year, §168(k) bonus rules) | per-component MACRS engine |
| STR vs LTR comparator | no | yes, with §469 material-participation logic | yes, plus portfolio-level STR rollup |
| 1031 planning | no | forward exchange | forward, plus Reverse 1031 and 1031 into a Delaware Statutory Trust |
| Quarterly estimator | yes | yes | yes |
| Schedule C + SE tax + Form 8959 | yes | yes | yes |
| Mileage & home-office | yes (Schedule C side) | yes | yes, plus a vehicle method comparator |
| Passive-loss machinery | Passive Activity Loss (PAL) advisory | PAL advisory | Form 8582 PAL carryover, at-risk basis (Form 6198), suspended-loss carryforward |
| Entity comparison | no | no | S-corp election break-even, LLC vs S-corp at multiple income levels |
| §199A QBI explorer | no | no | yes |
| Cost-seg study CSV import | no | no | yes (validates and previews a paid study's output) |
| Recapture on disposition | no | no | §1245 / §1250, plus home-office recapture on a home sale |
| Lookback & Refile analyzer | no | no | §481(a) catch-up via Form 3115, 1040-X amendment math, refund-vs-cost indicator |
| Cash-flow horizon | 3-year | 5-year | 10- and 30-year, refinance modeling, sale-vs-hold, Monte Carlo on the rent-growth assumption |
| Tax-year basis | TY2026 | TY2026 | TY2026 |
| Playbook PDF + email support | yes | yes | yes |
Current pricing is shown at checkout. An upgrade path exists from each tier; email support and we will point you to it.
Refund policy: linked below and on the checkout page, per its terms.
Section 05
Where it stops
Where the workbook stops:
- It plans. Your CPA files. Print the Schedule E and Schedule C mirrors and bring them to your CPA as a draft. Your CPA's filed numbers are authoritative.
- Federal only. State and local adjustments are your CPA's work.
- Cost segregation. It consumes a study's output, and its cost-seg differential math is how you decide, with your CPA, whether commissioning one is worth it.
- The machinery, visible end to end. That is what the workbook gives you. What that is worth depends on your facts, and the person who confirms it is your CPA.
Planning workbook, not tax advice. Consult your CPA.
Section 06
FAQ
Excel or Google Sheets?
Both. The file opens in Excel 2016+, Excel 365, Excel Online, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice Calc. Excel is the primary platform; the playbook documents the differences that matter (protection behavior, conditional-formatting rendering).
What if my CPA disagrees with a number?
The CPA's number wins. Every formula is visible, so the two of you can trace where an assumption differs. That conversation is the product working as intended.
Does it cover state taxes?
Federal only. See "Where it stops" above.
What does support look like?
Email support is included with every version, with a 24-hour response target. A public FAQ covers the common questions; for anything specific to your file, use the support address on your purchase receipt.
What is the refund policy?
The full policy is linked in the footer and on the checkout page before you enter billing information. If something works differently than described, email support first and we will make it right.
Is the short-term-rental treatment a loophole?
The average-stay and material-participation classification under §469 is long-established IRS rule. The comparator surfaces the tests mechanically; whether your property qualifies depends on your facts, and the defensible answer is your CPA's call.
Can I upgrade later?
Yes. Email support and we will point you to the upgrade path for the tier you need.