Last reviewed: 8 August 2026
Quick summary
- A letting-agent statement can show gross tenant rent, management commission, VAT, repairs and the net amount paid to you. Keep it, rather than relying only on the net bank credit.
- Build one monthly bridge from opening agent balance to rent collected, deductions, landlord payout and closing balance.
- Save the underlying repair and approval evidence: an agent description is not always enough to explain whether it was repair, improvement, a deposit deduction or a cost still held back.
Part of landlord tax guides by property type.
Direct answer
Use the letting-agent statement as the main source record and reconcile it to your bank, rather than entering only the net payout as rental income. HMRC asks landlords to keep details of rent, receipts, invoices and bank statements. Current LITRG MTD guidance also describes the usual agent statement: gross rent received, commission and fees including VAT, and expenses paid on the landlord's behalf.
That does not mean every statement line has an identical tax answer. It means the raw evidence must remain visible. If the agent collected ÂGBP 1,400, deducted ÂGBP 168 management fee, ÂGBP 240 plumbing bill and sent you ÂGBP 992, a bank-only record cannot show whether the ÂGBP 408 was fee, repair, a retention or a combination. The statement and underlying documents give your accountant the starting point to decide how it belongs in the property record.
The five-line statement bridge
- Opening client-money balance: money held by the agent at the beginning of the statement period.
- Gross rent and other receipts: tenant payment dates, rent period, late receipts and any separate charges clearly labelled.
- Agent deductions: management fee, VAT, tenant-find charge, inspection, contractor invoice, insurance or other line, each with its own supporting document.
- Landlord transfer: the exact net payout, transfer date and bank reference.
- Closing balance: retained money, reserve, unpaid contractor amount, pending repair or money awaiting the next payout.
Opening balance plus receipts, minus deductions and payout, should equal the closing balance. If it does not, leave the difference flagged. Do not force it into "repairs" just because the amount looks small. It could be a reversal, a deposit-related item, a late tenant payment, a statement-period difference or a fee applied in error.
Gross rent is not the same as cash in your bank
Most landlord errors here come from recording the most visible number. The bank shows the net transfer because the agent has already performed several movements. The tax and accounting record may need the gross rent and separate deductions, depending on the facts and reporting method. The agent statement is what lets you trace that route.
For one property, create a monthly folder named with the statement period. Put in the PDF or CSV statement, the payout bank line, invoices the agent paid, emails authorising unusual work and any rent schedule. For a portfolio, retain the same items by property and maintain a year summary. The UK-property business may be treated together for income-tax purposes, but property-level evidence remains valuable when a repair, void, sale, joint ownership issue or agent dispute needs explaining.
Three awkward but common examples
- The repair is deducted before you see the invoice: keep the agent statement, work approval, contractor invoice and payment evidence. Ask for a copy if the statement simply says "maintenance".
- The agent holds back ÂGBP 500: record it as an unresolved closing balance with the reason and anticipated action. It is not a landlord payout and it is not necessarily a completed repair cost.
- You change agent in the middle of a quarter: reconcile the final old-agent balance and first new-agent collection separately. Keep the handover statement so gross rent is not duplicated or omitted.
What to give an accountant
- Monthly agent statements, preferably PDF plus CSV/export where available.
- Bank evidence for every landlord payout and direct tenant payment.
- Management agreement and fee schedule, including VAT treatment shown by the agent.
- Repair approvals, contractor invoices, warranty information and evidence of who paid.
- Tenancy/void dates, rent schedules and arrears notes.
- Deposit, reserve and retained-money explanations at year end.
- Previous-agent handover statements if an agent changed during the year.
Checks worth doing each month
Check the rental period, not only the payout date. Check that management fee and VAT agree with the agreement. Query a deduction you do not recognise promptly. Keep repair invoices separate from capital works or appliance replacements where the facts need more thought. Finally, compare the latest closing balance to the next statement opening balance. This is a simple control that catches missing transfers and agent-held funds early.
For non-resident landlords, a letting agent can have separate responsibilities under the Non-resident Landlord Scheme. Keep any tax-deduction certificate or correspondence beside the statement and ask an accountant about the reporting position; do not try to infer it from an ordinary management-fee line.
Questions to ask an accountant
- Should this year be reconstructed from gross statement figures because the prior return used only net payouts?
- Which deductions need more evidence before they are categorised?
- How should retained funds, direct tenant payments and a mid-year agent change be reconciled?
- Does a substantial works invoice need separate review rather than being grouped with routine repairs?
- What digital record should be kept for MTD alongside the original statement and invoice?
Useful related guides
Key takeaway
The net payout is only the endpoint. Keep an agent statement-to-bank bridge that preserves gross rent, each fee, repair evidence and money still held. It makes the rental record much easier to check, file and hand to an accountant.
Set a monthly reminder to download statements before an agent portal changes or removes older files permanently.
Sources checked on 8 August 2026
Frequently asked questions
Should I record the net payout from my letting agent as rent?
Usually the statement must be kept and its gross rent, fees and agent-paid costs understood. A net bank transfer alone does not explain the components of the property income and expense record.
What if an agent retains rent for a repair?
Keep the statement, repair approval, contractor invoice, payment evidence and a note showing whether the retained balance is still held or has been paid. Do not assume it vanished merely because you did not receive it.