Overview

Tracking every dollar you spend on your short-term rental properties is one of the most important things you can do as an STR host. Accurate expense records serve three purposes: they reduce your taxable income through legitimate deductions, they provide evidence of material participation in your rental activity, and they support a Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) claim if you qualify.

The IRS expects organized, contemporaneous records when you deduct expenses on Schedule E (or Schedule C if you provide substantial services). Valzotra gives you a single place to log those expenses, attach receipts, assign them to the correct property, and categorize them using IRS-aligned categories.

How it works

  1. Navigate to Financials > Expenses in the left sidebar.
  2. Click Add expense to create a new entry. You can enter details manually or upload a receipt for AI-assisted data extraction (Host and Portfolio plans).
  3. Fill in the required fields — amount and date — and add optional details like vendor, category, property, reservation, and description.
  4. Attach a receipt image or PDF to keep your documentation in one place.
  5. Your expenses appear in a searchable, filterable list view where you can sort by date, amount, vendor, or category.

Each expense is timestamped automatically and tied to your account. When you assign an expense to a property, it contributes to that property's financial picture and strengthens your documentation trail for tax purposes.

Limits & requirements

  • Expense tracking is available on all paid plans (Comply, Host, and Portfolio).
  • There is no limit on the number of expenses you can create.
  • Receipt attachments count toward your monthly upload quota (Comply: 30/month, Host: 50/month, Portfolio: 100/month).
  • AI receipt scanning is available on the Host and Portfolio plans. Comply plan users enter expense details manually.
  • Each attachment file must be under 6 MB. Supported file types are JPEG, PNG, WebP, and PDF.

FAQ

Why should I track expenses in Valzotra instead of a spreadsheet? Valzotra timestamps every entry, ties it to a specific property, and stores receipt images alongside the record. This creates the kind of contemporaneous, organized documentation the IRS expects. Spreadsheets lack built-in receipt storage, audit trails, and IRS-aligned categorization.

Do I need to assign every expense to a property? No. Property assignment is optional. However, assigning expenses to properties strengthens your per-property deduction documentation and helps you see accurate profit-and-loss figures for each rental.

What expense categories does Valzotra use? Valzotra uses 15 categories aligned with IRS Schedule E line items, including Advertising, Auto & Travel, Cleaning & Maintenance, Insurance, Mortgage Interest, Repairs, Supplies, Taxes, Utilities, and more. Each category has subcategories for finer classification. See Expense Categories for the full list.

Can I link an expense to a specific reservation? Yes. When creating or editing an expense, you can optionally select a reservation. This is useful for tracking per-stay costs like cleaning fees or guest supplies.

What happens to my expenses if I cancel my subscription? Your data is retained but becomes read-only until you resubscribe to a paid plan.