How do I work out how much extra rent a furnished unit needs?
Add up the extra costs of furnishing on a monthly basis and divide by the months the unit is rented: the furniture you buy spread over its life, replacement and repairs, the utilities and internet you include, cleaning between stays and the vacancy gaps. That figure is the premium you need to break even. The market can support more or less, so check it against comparable listings you find yourself.
The monthly costs a furnished unit adds
An unfurnished lease has few costs beyond the building. A furnished one adds a list you can estimate from your own receipts. This post gives a method, not a rent figure, because the right rent depends on your market and your unit.
- Furniture and appliances: the purchase cost, spread over how long you expect them to last. For tax, the IRS puts furniture, appliances and carpeting used in a residential rental in the 5-year property class, per Publication 527.
- Repairs and replacement: broken or worn items between purchases.
- Utilities and internet you include, as a monthly average from your bills.
- Cleaning and restocking between stays.
- Vacancy: days empty between stays, which a shorter lease makes more frequent.
- Platform or marketing costs, if you list the home on a paid site.
A simple method with made-up numbers
Estimate each cost per month, add them and compare the total with the rent you would charge unfurnished. Use real numbers from your invoices, and use a conservative vacancy figure.
| Cost (made up) | Amount per month |
|---|---|
| Furniture, $9,000 spread over 5 years (60 months) | $150 |
| Repairs and replacement, a made-up $600 a year | $50 |
| Utilities and internet included, average of your bills | $220 |
| Cleaning and restocking, $120 per turn, 6 turns a year | $60 |
| Total extra monthly cost | $480 |
Example a made-up owner adds the four lines above and gets $480 a month of extra cost to cover. If the unit is empty a made-up 1 month in 12, the owner collects rent 11 months out of 12, so the owner needs $480 times 12 divided by 11, which is about $524 more per rented month than the unfurnished rent just to break even, before any profit.
The arithmetic of the vacancy adjustment is: yearly cost divided by the months you expect to collect rent. A longer average stay lowers turnover and cleaning costs per month, so check each line against the stay length you actually plan.
Check the number against your market
The break-even figure is a floor, not a price. Look at furnished and unfurnished listings for homes like yours in your area and compare. Use your own leases and rent roll for unfurnished comparisons: price a unit from your own leases. If the market will not pay your floor, a cheaper furniture set, a shorter list of included items or capped utilities can bring the cost down.
Be careful about copying a rate from a website. Rent levels move, and a number without a source and date is a guess. Use your own receipts and listings you can check.
How the furniture cost is deducted
You do not deduct the full cost of furniture in the year you buy it, in most cases. Publication 946 explains depreciation, and Publication 527 lists furniture used in a residential rental as 5-year property. Smaller items may fall under other rules, so ask a tax preparer. See the guide on depreciating appliances and carpet for how it works.
This is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Your state, your city, your policy and your own documents decide what applies, so confirm with the source and a licensed professional.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping gives you the numbers behind the method from your own books: expenses by property and by Schedule E line, rent from the bank feed matched to leases, and days vacant by unit. It does not suggest a rent. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. DoorKeeping is built for long-term rentals. It does not take nightly bookings, run a booking calendar or message guests, so it is not a tool for stays booked by the night.
Sources
- IRS Publication 527, Residential Rental Property, read Oct 31, 2026
- IRS Publication 946, How To Depreciate Property, read Oct 31, 2026
Questions
- How much more rent should a furnished unit charge?
- There is no standard figure. Add up your own extra costs, adjust for vacancy and compare with listings in your area that you can check.
- Is furniture deducted all at once?
- In most cases it is depreciated over time. The IRS puts furniture used in a residential rental in the 5-year class. Ask a tax preparer about your case.
- Does a longer lease change the math?
- Yes. Fewer turns means less cleaning and fewer vacant gaps per year, which lowers the monthly premium you need.