Rental Income Tax Guide for Property Managers

Whose tax is it?

Monthly Rental Income tax is the landlord’s tax, charged on the gross rent their property earns. As the manager you usually collect that rent, so you hold the records the return depends on. In practice most landlords expect you to prepare the numbers, and some expect you to file.

One exception: KRA can appoint agents to deduct rental income tax. If you’ve been appointed, you must remit what you deduct within five working days. Check your status with KRA or your tax agent.

Keep each landlord separate

• Assign every property to its owner, so rent and tax never mix between landlords.
• Record each payment against a tenant, unit and month.
• Issue each receipt through the owner’s eTIMS set-up, since the income is theirs.
• Prepare one return per landlord per month, by the 20th.

What each landlord should get every month

• An owner statement: rent invoiced, collected and outstanding per property.
• Your commission and any expenses, and the net amount paid out.
• The MRI due or filed for the month, and confirmation it was filed.

When those numbers come from one ledger instead of three spreadsheets, disputes disappear, and so does the week-long month-end.

A month-end routine that scales

1. 1st: invoices go out to every tenant.
2. Through the month: payments are matched and receipted as they land.
3. By the 15th: reconcile every landlord’s deposits.
4. By the 20th: file each landlord’s return (or nil return).
5. Month-end: owner statements out, landlords paid.

How Domus does this

Domus was built for managers with multiple landlords: properties belong to owners, every payment is matched and receipted, and each landlord gets their own statement and compliance status on one screen. You can also pass the Domus fee through to landlords as a line on their statement. Domus for property managers.