Seasons 1-6 (2008-2012)

For the first six seasons, the show was a half-hour. In this format, McGillivray meets with the homeowners to see the space in its current form. McGillivray shows two options to the homeowners for a possible redevelopment, utilizing design software.^[3] Each potential option has an estimated return on investment by way of monthly rent received. McGillivray shares the homeowners' mortgage payment and subtracts the estimated market rents to provide a "lower" mortgage payment. One option is generally grander in scope, usually affording the homeowner the opportunity to make more in rent than the other option, but at a higher renovation cost.

Once the homeowners decide on which option they prefer, the Income Property team goes to work to demolish and rebuild. The homeowners are usually involved in the renovation but then are kept out of the space during the final stages of completion to provide some element of surprise.

Once the renovation is complete, McGillivray obtains an opinion of value from a real estate appraiser or real estate agent, both for the amount of rent that can be charged, as well as to the overall increase in value to the property. During the reveal of the newly redeveloped space, McGillivray shows the staged^[3] rental suite and provides the new value of the home and estimated rental income^[4] to the homeowners.

The closing of the show has McGillivray verbally discussing the features of the suite, much like a newspaper ad would do. Then the show provides an inter-title of the result after filming showing the amount of rent the homeowners actually got once the unit hit the market. In some episodes, the homeowners did not rent out for various reasons.

In Canada, seasons 4 and 5 both aired during the same year, with season 4 airing in the spring of 2011, and season 5 airing in the fall. Seasons 4 and 6 saw two new episodes airing back-to-back each week, with the exception of the last three episodes of season 6, which aired once-per-week, successively.

Seasons 7-9 (2013-2014)

Starting with season 7, and through to season 9, the show expanded from its original half-hour format to a one-hour format, with one new episode airing each week. During the first half-hour, McGillivray follows potential new homeowners as they view three homes up for sale with income property potential. The second half-hour follows the same format as the original, with McGillivray showing the new homeowners two renovation options, the conversion of the space based on their choice, getting an opinion of value, and the reveal of the finished renovation/suggested rent/increased home value.^[5] A new opening sequence was created for the new hour-long format, which included the graphic "Buy it. Build it. Bank it."

Seasons 7 and 8 both aired during 2013 in Canada, with season 7 airing during the winter/spring, and season 8 airing in the fall.

Season 10 (2015)

Starting with Season 10, the show reverted to its original half-hour format, with two new episodes airing back-to-back each week, in Canada. It follows the same format as the first six seasons, except that after McGillivray shows the homeowners the options, he starts the renovation before the homeowners decide which option they will go with. Once he gets to a certain point, he then asks the homeowners which option they have decided on so that he can proceed. The opening sequence created at the start of the new hour-long format is still used, but has been edited, with some of the beginning removed, and the words "Buy it" removed from the original "Buy it. Build it. Bank it." graphic. The tenth season also saw the episode count increase from the usual 13 to 24. Four of these episodes (aired April 9 and April 16) see McGillivray tackling vacation rental properties.

Season 11 (2016)

Season 11 changes its focus to the rental market of vacation properties, with the tagline "On Vacation" added on to the Income Property title. Episodes retain their half-hour format from season 10, and feature Scott McGillivray guiding holiday homeowners through the process of building a vacation suite and banking the rental cheques.

Reno to Riches

Airing April 4, 2011, one week prior to the start of the fourth season, this one-hour special finds Scott McGillivray revisiting ten Income Property homeowners to find out how much cash they’ve collected and how it has transformed their lives. Throughout the show, a running tally adds up the rental income from three seasons of Income Property to find out exactly how much money these new landlords have collected.

Top 10 Income Property Renos

Airing on April 19, 2012, one week in advance of the premiere of the sixth season, this one-hour special is very much similar to the "Reno to Riches" special, and sees Scott McGillivray counting down the top ten Income Property transformations from the first five seasons. With each reno, he highlights the smart renovations that helped add incredible value to the property.

Season 1 (2008)

Season 2 (2009)

Season 3 (2010)

Season 4 (2011)

Season 5 (2011)

Season 6 (2012)

Season 7 (2013)

Season 8 (2013)

Season 9 (2014)

Season 10 (2015)

Season 11 (2016)

Season 11 focuses on vacation rental properties.