Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Lines 1a, 1b and 2 identify each rental property in Part I. Line 1a is the street address, line 1b is a code from 1 to 8 for the type of property, and line 2 is the number of fair rental days and personal use days. The days decide whether the unit counts as a home, which changes what you can deduct.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form 4835 instructions.
What lines 1a, 1b and 2 ask for
On the form, line 1a is captioned “Physical address of each property (street, city, state, ZIP code)” and line 1b is captioned “Type of Property (from list below)”. Line 2 reads “report the number of fair rental and personal use days.” The form also gives a box for a qualified joint venture: “Check the QJV box only if you meet the requirements to file as a qualified joint venture.”
The instructions set the scope: “Complete lines 1a, 1b, and 2 for each rental real estate property.” Each property gets its own column, A, B or C. Part I as a whole is mapped on the Schedule E (Form 1040) page.
Where the number comes from: line 1a
The instructions say “For rental real estate property only, show the street address, city or town, state, and ZIP code.” “If the property is located in a foreign country, enter the city, province or state, country, and postal code.” Enter each property’s address in that property’s own column.
Two scope rules sit in the Part I introduction. For a part interest: “If you own a part interest in a rental real estate property, report only your part of the income and expenses on Schedule E.” For more properties than the form has columns: “If you have more than three rental real estate or royalty properties, complete and attach as many Schedules E as you need to list them.”
Line 1b: the property type code
The form lists eight types. “Enter one of the codes listed under” Type of Property on the form. The captions are:
| Code | Caption on the form |
|---|---|
| 1 | “Single Family Residence” |
| 2 | “Multi-Family Residence” |
| 3 | “Vacation/Short-Term Rental” |
| 4 | “Commercial” |
| 5 | Land |
| 6 | “Royalties” |
| 7 | “Self-Rental” |
| 8 | “Other (describe)” |
Three codes get their own instruction. Land: “Enter code “5” for rental of land.” Self-rental: “Enter code “7” for self-rental if you rent property to a trade or business in which you materially participated.” Other: “Enter code “8” if the property is not one of the other types listed on the form. Attach a statement to your return describing the property.” For a royalty property the Part I introduction says “For royalty property, enter code “6” on line 1b and leave lines 1a and 2 blank for that property.”
Line 2: fair rental days and personal use days
Line 2 matters when you also used the property yourself. The instructions open with “If you rented out a dwelling unit that you also used for personal purposes during the year, you may not be able to deduct all the expenses for the rental part.” They then say what to count: “For each property listed on line 1a, report the number of days in the year each property was rented at fair rental value and the number of days of personal use.”
A day of personal use is “any day, or part of a day, that the unit was used by:” “You for personal purposes”; “Any other person for personal purposes, if that person owns part of the unit”; “Anyone in your family (or in the family of someone else who owns part of the unit)”; “Anyone who pays less than a fair rental price for the unit”; or “Anyone under an agreement that lets you use some other unit.” Each of those carries conditions in the instructions, so read the full list for your case.
Two kinds of days are left out: “Any day you spent working substantially full time repairing and maintaining the unit, even if family members used it for recreational purposes on that day” and certain days when the unit was your main home before or after renting it, which the instructions word in full under “Do not count as personal use:”
What the days decide
The instructions tie the day count to a test: “You used the unit as a home if your personal use of the unit was more than the greater of:” “14 days, or” “10% of the total days it was rented to others at a fair rental price.”
If you did not use the unit as a home: “you can deduct all your expenses for the rental part, subject to the at-risk rules and the passive activity loss rules, explained earlier.” If you did: “If you did use the unit as a home and rented the unit out for fewer than 15 days in 2025, do not report the rental income and do not deduct any rental expenses.” “If you did use the unit as a home and rented the unit out for 15 or more days in 2025, you may not be able to deduct all your rental expenses.” “See Pub. 527 for more information.”
Personal days also cut the deduction directly: “expenses related to days of personal use do not qualify as rental expenses.” The instructions give an example: “For example, you used your property for personal use for 7 days and rented it for 63 days. In most cases, 10% (7 ÷ 70) of your expenses are not rental expenses and cannot be deducted on Schedule E.” A property that began as your own home is discussed on the converting your home to a rental page.
The QJV box
The instructions say “Check the box for “QJV” if you owned the property as a member of a QJV reporting income not subject to self-employment tax.” To make the election: “To make this election for your rental real estate business, check the “QJV” box on line 2 for each property that is part of the QJV.” Two cautions apply: “Mere joint ownership of property that is not a trade or business does not qualify for the election.” and “a business owned and operated by spouses through an LLC does not qualify for the election of a QJV.” Ownership structures are compared on the LLC for rental property page.
Where it goes next
Lines 1a to 2 carry no dollar amount. They label the columns the rest of Part I uses: “Use a separate column (A, B, or C) for each rental property.” The income comes next at Schedule E lines 3 and 4, then the expenses at Schedule E lines 5 to 11 and Schedule E lines 12 to 19, and the totals at Schedule E lines 20 to 22 and Schedule E lines 23a to 26. The return the result reaches is explained on the Form 1040 page.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Schedule E (Form 1040) and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. They are byte-identical to the archived copies and they are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The schedule says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, or 1041.” Schedule E has its own instructions booklet, titled “Instructions for Schedule E” (Form 1040). Check the tax year printed on the schedule you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s schedule, because a different year’s schedule can number or word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Filling in lines 1a and 2 for a royalty property. The instructions say “leave lines 1a and 2 blank for that property.”
- Counting repair days as personal use. The instructions do not count “Any day you spent working substantially full time repairing and maintaining the unit” even when family members used the unit that day.
- Using code 8 with no explanation. The instructions say “Attach a statement to your return describing the property.”
Related: Schedule E (Form 1040), converting your home to a rental, LLC for rental property, and Form 1040.
Sources
- Instructions for Schedule E (Form 1040), Supplemental Income and Loss (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040se.pdf
- Schedule E (Form 1040), Supplemental Income and Loss (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040se.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.