Income tax for landlords in Sri Lanka — Y/A 2025/2026
Rent from houses, apartments or commercial units with the 25% statutory repair allowance applied, plus interest already taxed at 10%. Work out which schedules you file and what is left to pay.
What did you earn this year?
Pre-filled for your profession — add what applies, skip what doesn't.
A worked example for landlords
Illustrative figures for a typical income mix for landlords — rental income, bank interest — using the default amounts below. Your own numbers will differ; use the wizard above for your actual figures.
The 25% statutory repair allowance under Section 5(1)(g) is automatic and needs no receipts, which makes it the default choice for almost every landlord — the actual-expense route only makes sense if genuine repair and maintenance costs in the year clearly exceed 25% of gross rent, and even then it's capped at 20% of the property's cost and requires full documentation, so run both numbers before choosing. Where a corporate tenant withholds 10% WHT on rent paid, that withholding certificate is your evidence for the credit — request it promptly, since a change of tenant or a lapsed lease can make it hard to obtain retroactively. Multiple rental properties are aggregated into one Schedule 3 figure, not filed separately, so a loss-making unit (after allowances) can offset a profitable one in the same year. A property held jointly with a spouse or family member is assessed on each owner's actual share of the rental income, not automatically split evenly — the ownership proportion on the deed is what governs, and mismatching that against what's declared is a common source of query. Advance rent covering multiple months or years is assessable in the year received, not spread across the tenancy period it covers, which can produce a larger-than-expected liability in the year a long lease is signed.
Common questions
- How much of my rent is actually taxable?
- By default 75%. Section 5(1)(g) allows a statutory 25% allowance for repairs and maintenance without needing receipts, so only the balance enters your assessable income.
- Can I claim actual repair costs instead of the 25%?
- Yes, but the actual-expense route is capped at 20% of the asset's cost and needs documentation. Most landlords are better off with the statutory allowance.
- Is WHT deducted from rent I receive?
- A corporate tenant withholds 10% on rent paid. That is a credit against your liability, not a final tax — the gross rent still goes on the return.
Work out a single figure instead
25% standard deduction on gross rent, plus actual expenses if better. For landlords with one or more properties.
Estimate your annual liability across salary, freelance, interest and investment income — with 2025/2026 reliefs applied.
10% Advance Income Tax withheld on deposit interest — creditable against your return, not a final tax.