What a CPA Needs From You at Year End for Real Estate
Quick answer: At year end, a CPA needs real estate documents that show what you earned, what you spent, and what you bought or sold. For landlords and rental owners, that means closing statements, a reconciled P&L by property and entity, mortgage forms, depreciation records, CapEx receipts, and entity paperwork. If you are a realtor who also owns rentals, your CPA needs both your agent records and your rental records, kept separate.
People often search for what a CPA needs from a realtor at year end when they really mean something broader: what real estate documents does my CPA need? If you sell homes for a living, your packet centers on commission income and business expenses. If you own rental property, alone or through LLCs, your CPA needs a different set of documents. This page is for landlords, rental owners, and agents who also own rentals.
This guide is general bookkeeping information, not tax advice. Every return is different, and an agent-only Schedule C packet differs from the rental documents covered here. Confirm exactly what your CPA wants before you send anything.
Realtor or landlord: why the question matters
The word realtor points to agent income: commissions, brokerage splits, marketing, and mileage. That income usually lands on Schedule C. Rental income usually lands on Schedule E, or flows through a K-1 if a partnership or multi-member LLC owns the property.
Many people in real estate are both. An agent who owns two rentals in an LLC has two separate stories to tell their CPA. Mixing them in one spreadsheet is the most common reason year-end prep takes longer than it should.
Agent vs landlord year-end documents
| Topic | Real estate agent (Schedule C) | Landlord or rental owner (Schedule E or K-1) |
|---|---|---|
| Main income records | Commission statements and brokerage 1099s. | Rent roll and rental income by property. |
| Core report | Business P&L. | Reconciled P&L by property and by entity. |
| Big-ticket records | Vehicle and home-office records. | Closing statements, depreciation schedules, and fixed-asset additions. |
| Financing | Usually little or none. | Form 1098s, year-end loan balances, and an interest, principal, and escrow split. |
| Balance sheet items | Rarely needed. | Security deposits held as liabilities, loan balances, and owner contributions. |
| Expense focus | MLS dues, licensing, continuing education, marketing, and mileage. | Repairs vs improvements, property taxes, insurance, management, and utilities. |
| Vendor forms | Contractor list for any 1099s. | Contractor W-9s and a 1099 list. Confirm thresholds with your CPA. |
| Entity paperwork | Usually a sole proprietor. | LLC documents, EIN letters, partnership allocations, and prior K-1s. |
If you only sell homes, the left column is your packet. If you own rentals, the right column is yours. If you do both, send both, clearly labeled.
How to gather year-end real estate documents for your CPA in 7 steps
- Clarify your role with your CPA: agent income, rental income, or both. A short email at the start of the season saves a lot of back and forth. Tell your CPA which properties you own, which entity owns each one, and whether you also earned commissions. They will tell you which forms and reports they expect.
- Gather your prior-year return and depreciation schedules. Depreciation carries forward year to year. Your CPA needs last year's return, the depreciation and amortization schedules, and any carryovers so they can pick up where the last filing left off.
- Collect closing, refinance, and sale statements for the year. Any property you bought, sold, or refinanced has a settlement statement. These documents set your basis, show loan costs, and record prorated taxes and credits. Missing closing documents are one of the most common reasons a return stalls.
- Export a reconciled P&L by property and entity, plus a rent roll and deposit schedule. Reconcile every bank account first, then export income and expenses for each property and each LLC. Add a rent roll showing rent tracked per unit and a schedule of security deposits held as liabilities by entity.
- Attach Form 1098s and year-end mortgage balances, with interest, principal, and escrow split. A loan payment is not one expense. Interest is generally deductible, principal is not an expense, and escrow covers taxes and insurance that are booked on their own lines. Include each lender's year-end statement.
- Sort CapEx from repairs and list fixed-asset additions. Roofs, HVAC systems, appliances, and major renovations are often capitalized and depreciated, while routine fixes are usually expensed. List each improvement with date, amount, property, and receipt, and let your CPA make the final call.
- Add entity documents, a vendor W-9 and 1099 list, and a cover note with open questions. Include LLC formation documents, EIN letters, operating agreements for partnerships, and any ownership changes. List contractors you paid, with their W-9s, and confirm the 1099 filing threshold with your CPA. Do not guess a dollar cutoff. Finish with a short cover note listing anything unusual.
For owners with several LLCs, the year-end CPA packet guide for rental LLCs walks through assembling one packet per entity.
Checklist: year-end real estate documents for your CPA
Prior year
- Last year's tax return
- Depreciation and amortization schedules
- Prior K-1s for any partnership or multi-member LLC
Transactions
- Closing statements for purchases and sales
- Refinance settlement statements
Books
- Bank accounts reconciled for every entity
- P&L by property and by LLC
- Rent roll by unit
- Security deposit schedule by entity
Financing
- Form 1098 for each loan
- Year-end loan balances
- Interest, principal, and escrow split
Assets
- CapEx list with dates, amounts, and receipts
- Repairs kept separate from improvements
Entities and vendors
- LLC documents and EIN letters
- Contractor W-9s and a 1099 list, with the threshold confirmed with your CPA
- Cover note with open questions
If you are also an agent
- Commission statements and brokerage 1099s, kept separate from rental records
Common mistakes
Mixing agent and rental records. Commissions and rent belong on different schedules. Keep separate books, or at least separate reports.
Booking the whole mortgage payment as an expense. Principal is not an expense, and escrow needs to be split out.
Sending bank statements instead of books. Raw statements push categorization onto your CPA, which usually means a bigger bill.
Forgetting closing statements. Basis starts at closing. Without the settlement statement, depreciation cannot be set up correctly.
If your LLCs share one set of books today, see bookkeeping for multiple rental LLCs and rental LLC bank accounts before next year end.
Questions people ask
What does a CPA need from a realtor at year end?
For agent income, usually commission statements, brokerage 1099s, a business P&L, and mileage records. If the realtor also owns rentals, the CPA also needs rental P&Ls by property, closing statements, 1098s, and depreciation records.
What documents do landlords need for taxes?
Typically a reconciled P&L by property, a rent roll, Form 1098s, closing statements for any purchases or sales, depreciation schedules, CapEx receipts, a deposit schedule, and entity documents. Confirm the list with your CPA.
Do I need closing statements for my CPA?
Yes, for any property bought, sold, or refinanced during the year. Closing statements show purchase price, loan costs, and prorations. Your CPA uses them to set basis and depreciation.
Is rental income reported on Schedule C or Schedule E?
Rental income is usually reported on Schedule E, or passed through on a K-1 if a partnership or multi-member LLC owns the property. Agent commissions usually go on Schedule C. Your CPA confirms the right treatment.
How should I organize real estate documents for multiple LLCs?
Create one folder and one set of reports per LLC: P&L, rent roll, deposit schedule, loan statements, CapEx list, and entity documents. Keep separate books per entity so each packet stands on its own.
Hand your CPA clean books for every property
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