Generally speaking, expenses connected to earning rental income are entitled to tax relief through deductions.
If you maintain a cash system of accounting then you report your rental income upon receipt, and not on the due basis.
The expenses also receive the same treatment.
The cash system is preferred by individuals since they find it simple to use.
However, you need to be careful not to apply any double standards, which simply means different standards for receipts and expenses.
For example, unpaid repair bills can not be deducted if the rental income is being reported on a cash basis.
Or you may have not reported uncollected rent as income since you did not get it.
By the same token, it does not qualify as an expense.
Security deposits need not be reported as income if it is meant to be refunded at the end of the lease period.
However, if it is adjusted against the rent of the last month, then it has to be reported in the year of receipt and not in the year when it was adjusted, if the two years are different.
Apart from repairs, all kinds of operating expenses qualify for deduction and tax relief.
Thus, amounts spent on utilities, if paid by you, can be deducted.
You may also deduct security expenses if you are paying for it and not the tenant.
Depreciation provides a big deduction against rental income.
Improvements made to your property subsequently will also qualify for deductions and bring you tax relief.
Earning rent from property need not be burdensome from a tax point of view.