Is prepaid rent taxable income?
Also, can landlord charge tax rent?
Yes, your landlord can make you pay property taxes. In most residential cases, you'll have no idea whether or not he's using your money for property taxes -- and it doesn't really matter as long as the rent is affordable for you.
Considering this, how is prepaid rent treated for tax purposes?
Rent paid in advance. Generally, rent paid for use of property in your trade or business is deductible in the year paid or incurred. If you are an accrual method taxpayer and pay rent in advance, you can deduct only the amount of rent that applies to your use of rented property during the tax year.
For a company -- whether it be a bank or a non-financial business -- customer deposits are not income items and, therefore, do not go into taxable income calculation. This assertion doesn't depend on the accounting method the business uses, so using a cash-basis or accrual accounting method doesn't matter.