Expense tracking
Tracking expenses helps you understand your rental property profitability and prepares you for tax time.
Why track expenses?
- Tax Deductions - Many expenses are tax deductible
- Profitability - Understand your actual returns
- AGI Applications - Some expenses qualify for Above Guideline Increases
- Business Planning - Make informed decisions
Adding an expense
Step 1: Navigate to financials
- Click Financials in the sidebar
- Click Add Expense
Step 2: Enter expense details
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Yes | When expense occurred |
| Property | Yes | Which property |
| Category | Yes | Type of expense |
| Amount | Yes | Expense amount |
| Description | Recommended | What was purchased/paid |
| Vendor | No | Who you paid |
| Reference | No | Invoice/receipt number |
Step 3: Attach receipt (optional)
Upload a photo or PDF of the receipt.
Step 4: Save
Click Add Expense to save.
Expense categories
Selectable categories
These are the actual selectable categories and where each lands on your T776:
| Category | Tax Line |
|---|---|
| Maintenance & Repairs | Line 8960 |
| Utilities | Line 9200 |
| Insurance | Line 8690 |
| Property Tax | Line 9180 |
| Mortgage Payment | Line 8710 (interest portion — principal isn't deductible) |
| Property Management Fees | Line 8871 |
| HOA/Condo Fees | Line 9270 (Other) |
| Capital Expenditure (AGI) | Handled separately under CCA, not a T776 expense line |
| Admin/Office | Line 9270 (Other) |
| Other | Line 9270 |
There's no separate "Advertising" or "Legal & Professional" category to pick from — the T776 generator has line mappings ready for both (8521 and 8760 respectively) for future use, but neither is a selectable expense category today.
Capital expenses
Some expenses are capital (depreciated over time):
- Major renovations
- Appliance purchases
- Significant improvements
These are tracked separately for CCA (Capital Cost Allowance).
Recurring expenses
For regular expenses like mortgage interest:
- Create one expense entry
- Check Recurring
- Set frequency (monthly, quarterly, yearly)
- System creates future entries automatically
Viewing expenses
Expense list
- Go to Financials → Expenses
- View all expenses
- Filter by property, category, date
By property
- Go to property detail page
- View Expenses section
- Shows only that property's expenses
Editing and deleting
Edit an expense
- Find the expense
- Click Edit
- Make changes
- Save
Delete an expense
- Find the expense
- Click Delete
- Confirm
Deleting expenses affects financial reports. Consider correcting rather than deleting.
Linking to maintenance
When resolving a maintenance ticket:
- Enter the cost on the ticket
- Optionally create linked expense
- Expense auto-populated with details
Receipt management
Uploading receipts
- Attach to expense entry
- Photo or PDF
- Multiple receipts per expense OK
Organizing receipts
- All receipts stored in cloud
- Accessible from expense detail
- Exportable for accountant
Best practices
- Record immediately - Enter expenses as they occur
- Attach receipts - Always upload documentation
- Categorize correctly - Use proper CRA categories
- Review monthly - Catch any missed expenses
- Export for tax time - Give accountant clean data