Bookkeeping for rental property owners in Lansing, MI.
For landlords with one rental or a few dozen units. Your books done the day you upload your statements, checked against your bank, for $79 a month.
Free to join. The first 1,000 in get their catch-up free.
Sales tax
Michigan's sales tax is 6%, with no local sales tax on top. If what you sell is taxable, you collect it and file returns with the state.
State income tax
Michigan taxes income at a flat 4.25%, including the profit from your business.
Local tax
Lansing has a city income tax: 1% for people who live there, 0.5% for people who only work there.
Federal tax
Working for yourself, you pay 15.3% self-employment tax on most of your profit, plus federal income tax, usually in four estimated payments: April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15.
Contractors
Paid a contractor $2,000 or more in 2026? Send them a 1099-NEC by January 31.
What every business in Lansing (about 110,000 people) keeps track of in 2026. Rates change, so check with your accountant before you file.
Rental property owners in Lansing, by the numbers
Ingham County, home to Lansing, has 93 landlords and property lessors with employees (Census Bureau, 2023).
That's 12% more than in 2018 (83).
Another 1,403 are run by one person with no employees, mostly self-employed owners.
Across Michigan there are 2,833 with employees, so about 3% are in Ingham County.
Every one of them has books to keep: sales to match to the bank, costs to sort and tax to work out.
Why rental property owners need different books
Rent from several tenants, a mortgage where only the interest is a cost, repairs that might be improvements, deposits you're holding, and a building that's written off over decades but the land never is. Rental books are mostly about telling those apart.
What a bookkeeper for rental property owners in Lansing keeps track of
Rent received from each tenant, and who's late
Mortgage interest apart from principal
Repairs apart from improvements
Tenant deposits held
Depreciation on the building
Taxes for rental property owners in Michigan
Long-term residential rent isn't subject to sales tax; short-term stays often carry lodging taxes in Michigan.
Rental income and costs go on Schedule E.
Residential buildings are depreciated over 27.5 years; land isn't depreciated.
Repairs are written off now; improvements are depreciated.
What SumSwift does for landlords, for $79 a month
A rent roll matching each tenant's payments, with late rent flagged
Mortgage interest split from principal
"Repair or improvement?" asked once for big costs
The T776 with CCA (Canada) for each property, co-owners included
Tenant deposits tracked as held
Every statement checked against the balances your bank printed, to the cent, with personal spending kept off your profit
Up to 3 accounts included. Prices in USD. Your accountant still files your tax return, with clean books and free access.
Questions.
How much does a bookkeeper for rental property owners cost in Lansing?
Published price guides put most small businesses at $300 to $1,500 a month for a bookkeeper, more when the books are busy, as they often are for rental property owners. SumSwift does the monthly work for $79 a month, the day you upload your statements.
Is a new roof a repair or an improvement?
Usually an improvement, written off over years. Fixing a few shingles is a repair. SumSwift asks for costs over $1,500 on a property.
Do I need separate books for each property?
Each property gets its own numbers in SumSwift, inside one set of books.
Does SumSwift know Michigan's tax rules?
Long-term residential rent isn't subject to sales tax; short-term stays often carry lodging taxes in Michigan. Rental income and costs go on Schedule E.
Behind on my books. Can you catch me up?
Yes. A catch-up of up to 12 months is $599, once, checked against your bank to the cent.