Mid-October is a good moment to look back at the rental year. Two and a half months are left, the memory of spring repairs hasn't faded completely, and the receipts are still somewhere you can find them.

In Hungary there's an extra nudge: the advance tax on third-quarter rental income was due on 12 October 2026, and the last quarter's advance falls due on 12 January 2027. Wherever you're a landlord, though, the job is the same. Sooner or later you, your accountant or the tax office will want to see what came in, what went out, and the proof for both.

This walkthrough shows how to keep that record in LeasingTrack, one property at a time. Our previous product post covered inviting tenants for repairs and messages. This one is about the money and the paperwork.

Why per-property records matter

In late July 2026 the Hungarian tax authority (NAV) published guidance for people letting flats, reported by Portfolio. It was mostly practical advice: have a valid written lease, document every rent payment (a bank transfer with the date and "rent" in the reference is simplest), and keep your invoices if you plan to deduct actual costs.

That last point applies in many countries. Under Hungary's itemised method you can deduct costs connected to the letting, but only if they're paid and backed by an invoice. The alternative is a flat 10% cost allowance, where no receipts are needed but you can't deduct anything beyond it. Other countries have their own versions of this choice, and the rules on what counts as a deductible cost vary a lot.

Whatever your country, a few things hold everywhere:

  • Income and costs need to be separate and traceable, not mixed into one bank statement.
  • If you own more than one flat, every item has to belong to the right property.
  • Invoices often have to be kept for years, well beyond the tax return they were used for. How long depends on your country's limitation period, so ask your accountant.

LeasingTrack is built around exactly this. Each property holds its own leases, tenants, income, expenses, documents and messages.

Step 1: Record each rent payment against its lease

When rent arrives, record it in LeasingTrack against the lease it belongs to, not just against the flat.

That's what keeps the balance honest. LeasingTrack works out each lease's balance from the payments you've recorded, so you don't have to keep a running total in a spreadsheet. If a tenant paid only part of September's rent, or skipped a month, the shortfall shows up on its own. You don't need a separate list of arrears.

A few habits help:

  • Use the date the money arrived. In Hungary, for example, the quarter that income belongs to is generally set by when you received it, not the month the rent was for. Other countries may differ, but recording the real date is never wrong.
  • Record partial payments as they come. If a tenant pays in two instalments, enter both.
  • Keep rent and other charges apart where your lease separates them. Rules on how service charges or utilities passed on to the tenant are taxed differ by country. In Hungary, NAV's July guidance says common charges the tenant pays to the landlord count as rental income.

Your tenants see their own lease and its payments too, so a disagreement over what has been paid usually gets cleared up before it turns into an argument.

Step 2: Enter expenses against the right property, with the invoice

Every cost you might want to deduct, or simply want to remember, goes in as an expense on the property it relates to. Typical ones:

  • repairs and maintenance (the plumber, a new boiler part, repainting between tenants)
  • appliances and furniture bought for the flat
  • building fees or charges you pay as the owner
  • insurance, agent fees, legal or accounting costs connected to the letting

Then keep the invoice with the property, right next to the expense. Take a photo or scan on the day you pay, while the paper is still in your hand. A faded thermal receipt in a kitchen drawer is a common reason for losing a deduction.

If you own two flats in the same building, be strict about which one each cost belongs to. Splitting things up in March is much harder than getting them right now.

Step 3: Keep the lease, handover notes and messages with the flat

Money records make more sense when the paperwork behind them is close by. In LeasingTrack you can keep with each property:

  • the signed lease and any amendments, such as a rent increase
  • handover notes and photos from move-in and move-out, which matter when you settle a deposit
  • messages with the tenant, so an agreement like "you pay for the new tap, I deduct it from October's rent" is written down next to the payment it affects

When your accountant asks why October's rent was lower, the answer is one click away instead of buried in your phone.

Your year-end checklist

Pick a quiet evening in November or early December and go through each property:

  1. Rent: is every payment received this year recorded against the right lease, on the right date?
  2. Balances: does any lease show money owed? Talk to the tenant now rather than in January.
  3. Expenses: is every cost from this year entered against the right property?
  4. Invoices: does every expense you plan to deduct have its invoice stored with it? Ask suppliers for any missing ones before the year closes.
  5. Documents: are the current lease, any amendments and the latest handover notes saved with the flat?
  6. Changes: did a tenant leave, a new lease start or the rent change? Make sure the records match.
  7. Deadlines: write down your country's next tax dates. In Hungary that means the advance payment due on 12 January 2027 and the annual return in May.
  8. Questions for your accountant: note anything unclear, such as which costs count or which cost method suits you, and take the list to your meeting.

A note on tax

This article explains how to keep good records. It isn't tax advice. What you can deduct, how long you have to keep invoices, and when payments are due all depend on your country and sometimes on your own situation. In Hungary, NAV's information booklet on letting property is a good place to start. Elsewhere, check with your tax office or an accountant.

LeasingTrack is free for up to two properties, so if you've been meaning to move your rentals out of a spreadsheet, the end of the year is a natural time to do it.