Landlord income taxes - tips and tricks?

[Rebecca Ray]

I'm going over tax returns for an ill relative who's a landlord and I need some advice. A CPA does their taxes for free as a personal favor but it looks like a 12 year old could have done them and I'm guessing it's cost them thousands over the years in overpaid taxes from improper filing. They have 6 units they own outright, paid 17k in property taxes last year but only have 3k shown in business expenses and seem to be paying a ridiculous amount in income tax.

Any recommendations on experienced CPAs that can file to the advantage of landlords? Anything I should be looking out for to know for sure if their CPA knows anything about doing landlord specific income taxes? 

[Bob Norton]

Rebecca, ask prospective CPAs if they own any rental properties.  Ask them how many clients they have that are landlords.  Then, ask them their process for preparing tax returns.  Many tax preparers simply take the information given to them and enter it in the tax return.  This appears to be what happened to your relative.  You want a CPA who analyzes the data they receive and asks questions about information that appears to be missing.  I hope this helps.