NRL6, NRLY, and NRLQ: Non-Resident Landlord Quarterly and Annual Returns

The Non-Resident Landlord Scheme creates three recurring filing obligations for whoever is operating the withholding — your letting agent or, in direct-let situations, your tenant. Missing these deadlines triggers automatic penalties, and a missing NRL6 certificate leaves you unable to properly reconcile your tax return.

Form NRLQ: The Quarterly Return

NRLQ is the quarterly tax return filed by agents or tenants who are withholding tax under the NRLS. It reports the gross rent collected, allowable expenses deducted, and tax withheld for the quarter.

The NRLS runs on its own quarterly calendar (not aligned with the standard tax year quarters):

The withheld tax must be remitted to HMRC within 30 days of each quarter-end, accompanied by the NRLQ form. If allowable expenses exceeded rental income in a given quarter (meaning no tax is due), the agent or tenant doesn't need to file NRLQ for that period — unless HMRC has specifically issued a notice to file.

Each NRLQ covers a single quarter for a single non-resident landlord. An agent managing multiple overseas landlords files a separate NRLQ for each.

Form NRLY: The Annual Information Return

NRLY is the annual summary that letting agents submit to HMRC after the NRLS year ends on 31 March. It covers all non-resident landlords the agent managed during the year, detailing gross rents collected, expenses deducted, and tax withheld for each landlord.

The filing deadline is 5 July following the 31 March year-end.

A critical detail: agents must file NRLY even if every non-resident landlord on their books received rent gross under HMRC approval. The form is an information return, not just a tax payment return — HMRC uses it to cross-check against landlords' Self Assessment submissions.

Tenants operating the scheme must also submit NRLY by the same deadline, unless they've received formal HMRC authorisation to pay rent gross.

Form NRL6: Certificate of Tax Deducted

NRL6 is the certificate your agent or tenant provides to you — the landlord — documenting the total rent received, expenses deducted, and tax withheld during the scheme year ending 31 March. It must be issued by 5 July.

This certificate is your proof of tax already paid. When you file your annual Self Assessment return (SA100 + SA105 + SA109), you enter the NRL6 figures to claim a credit for tax withheld. Without it, you have no documented basis for the credit, and reconciling your tax position becomes a manual exercise of matching rent statements against quarterly HMRC payments.

If your agent fails to provide the NRL6 by 5 July, chase it immediately. You're entitled to the certificate under SI 1995/2902, and your agent faces penalties for non-issuance.

What Landlords Need to Check

Even though your agent handles the NRLQ filings and issues the NRL6, these documents directly affect your tax position. Practical checks worth running each year:

Verify the NRL6 against your rent statements. The total rent on the certificate should match what your agent actually collected (not what they paid to you after fees). Any discrepancy means either the certificate is wrong or your rent statements are incomplete.

Check that expenses match. The allowable expenses your agent deducted before calculating withholding should correspond to genuine costs paid during the year — management fees, maintenance, safety certificates, landlord-paid utilities. If the expense figure looks too low, you may have been over-withheld. Too high, and your annual tax return will show less tax already paid than expected.

Reconcile quarterly payments. If you're tracking your agent's quarterly remittances (you should be), the quarterly NRLQ totals, where filed, should sum to the annual NRL6 total. Rounding differences are normal; larger gaps aren't.

Record Retention

SI 1995/2902 requires agents and tenants to maintain NRLS compliance records for a minimum of six years after the end of the tax year they relate to. As a landlord, you should keep your NRL6 certificates for at least the same period — HMRC can open enquiries into Self Assessment returns for up to six years (longer if carelessness or deliberate error is suspected).

When an Agent Changes or Tenancy Ends

Changing agents or ending a tenancy doesn't eliminate outstanding NRLS obligations. The outgoing agent remains liable to complete NRLQ filings and issue NRL6 certificates for all periods during which they managed your rental income. If an agent winds up or stops trading, recovering these documents can be difficult — another reason to keep your own quarterly records.

Our Non-Resident Landlord Scheme guide includes a quarterly tracking template designed to sit alongside your NRL6 certificate, so you can verify every deduction and carry the reconciled figures straight onto your tax return.

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