Usually no for a cash-method landlord. If rent was never included in income, there is no tax basis to deduct when the tenant fails to pay. Accrual-method treatment can differ if the receivable was previously reported as income.
The expense-specific result is below. The shared BAR test, de minimis safe-harbor rule, and source guide live on the deductions hub so they are not repeated on every expense page.
A worked classification for unpaid rent and bad debt
A cash-method tenant misses two $1,200 payments. The landlord reports $2,400 less rent on line 3 and claims no bad-debt expense. If an accrual landlord had already reported the $2,400, a later worthlessness analysis may support a deduction.
Records that support this treatment
Keep the lease, rent ledger, notices, collection efforts, judgment, accounting method, prior returns showing whether the receivable entered income, and security-deposit application.
IRS Publication 527, Uncollected Rent, states that a cash-method landlord cannot deduct rent that was never included in income. Accrual-method landlords apply the bad-debt rules after the rent was reported.
Keep the invoice, the decision, and the Schedule E placement together. The broader rental property deductions guide and the Schedule E walkthrough cover the full return.
This is general information for organizing rental records, not tax advice. Elections, entity structure, mixed use, and the exact unit of property can change the answer. Bring the invoice and the underlying facts to a CPA before filing.