Accrued Rent Calculator

Compute accrued rent: the rent recognized but not yet paid at a reporting date. Use totals mode for straight-line accrual over a lease term, or dates mode for exact day-count proration when the reporting date falls mid-month. For the related straight-line-vs-cash gap, see the deferred rent liability calculator.

Quick Answer

Worked examples, checked against this exact tool

Totals mode: total lease rent $24,000 over 12 months, 5 months elapsed: monthly = 24,000 ÷ 12 = $2,000; accrued = 2,000 × 5 = $10,000; remaining = $14,000.
Dates mode: monthly rent $2,000, lease started 2026-01-15, as of 2026-04-10: 2 whole months ($4,000) plus 26 of March’s 31 days at $2,000 ÷ 31 = $64.52/day ($1,677.42). Accrued = $5,677.42. Enter the same inputs and the tool reproduces every figure.

Accrued vs deferred vs prepaid

Three timing cousins, often confused. Accrued rent is recognized before cash moves: the tenant has used the space but not paid (liability), or the landlord has earned it but not received it (asset). Deferred rent is the cumulative gap between straight-line expense and actual cash paid when a lease has free periods or escalations. Prepaid rent is cash paid before it is earned: an asset for the tenant until the month passes. This tool handles the first; the deferred-rent sibling page handles the second.

Why straight-line?

Under ASC 842 and IFRS 16, operating-lease expense is recognized evenly over the lease term even when cash payments vary (free months, scheduled increases). Total cash over the term divided by total months gives the monthly expense, and the cumulative expense at any date is the accrued figure. When cash paid differs from expense recognized, the difference sits in a deferred rent account.

The partial-month proration

Date mode counts whole anniversary months first, then prorates the leftover days at the monthly rent divided by the days in that calendar month (the daily-rate method). A 26-day stub in March uses /31; the same stub in February would use /28 (or /29). This matches how most leases and auditors prorate, and it fixes the old page’s admitted limitation with partial months.

Journal entries

At period end, the tenant records: Dr Rent Expense / Cr Rent Payable for the accrued amount. The landlord records: Dr Rent Receivable / Cr Rent Revenue. When cash later changes hands, the payable/receivable clears against cash. Under cash-basis accounting none of this applies: income and expense hit only when paid. A similar two-sided logic applies to other earned-but-unpaid items; see the accrued income calculator.

What competing calculators miss

The old version of this very page admitted it could not do partial months; most simple tools still cannot. The accounting explainers give the daily-rate method but no working calculator. This page now does both: whole-month totals for quick close work and exact date-based proration for mid-month reporting dates.

Frequently asked questions

What is accrued rent?+−

Rent that has been incurred but not yet paid (tenant) or earned but not yet received (landlord). Under accrual accounting it is recognized in the period it belongs to, regardless of when cash moves.

How is accrued rent calculated?+−

Straight-line monthly expense (total cash / total months) times elapsed months, with partial months prorated by the daily rate.

Is accrued rent an asset or a liability?+−

Both, depending on whose books: a liability (rent payable) for the tenant, an asset (rent receivable) for the landlord.

What is the difference between accrued and deferred rent?+−

Accrued rent is expense recognized before cash moves. Deferred rent is the cumulative gap between straight-line expense and cash paid when a lease has free periods or escalations.

Can this handle partial months?+−

Yes: dates mode prorates the leftover days at the monthly rent divided by the days in that calendar month.

How do I record accrued rent?+−

Tenant: Dr Rent Expense / Cr Rent Payable. Landlord: Dr Rent Receivable / Cr Rent Revenue. Reverse when cash changes hands.

Does accrued rent apply to residential leases?+−

Yes, the concept is the same, but mid-month proration matters most for commercial closes; residential rent is usually paid on the first.

Is accrued rent taxable when recognized?+−

Generally yes for accrual-basis taxpayers: income and deductions follow recognition, not cash. Cash-basis taxpayers recognize only when paid or received.

What is straight-line rent expense?+−

Total cash payable over the lease term divided by total months: the same expense every period, required by ASC 842 for operating leases.

What if the lease has a free-rent period?+−

Total cash still spreads evenly over the term, so free months lower the monthly straight-line figure; the timing gap accumulates as deferred rent.

Add This Calculator to Your Website

Put this free calculator on your own site. Choose a size to preview it, then copy the embed code.

References