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Rent Receipt Generator

Sources: The Statutes and Official Guides We Cite

Every primary source behind the state receipt summaries and the IRS record-keeping notes, who publishes it, and exactly what we use it for.

Last reviewed: · the IRS links were added and checked on this date; the state links were last opened and compared with their summaries on October 15, 2026

State statutes and agency guides

These eight sources support the entries on the state receipt requirements guide (summaries last reviewed October 14, 2026). Seven are statutes or session laws on a state legislature’s website; one is a state agency guide. Our methodology explains why the list is limited to these states.

California

  • Source: Landlords’ and Tenants’ Rights Guide, “Living in the Rental Unit,” section “Obtaining receipts for rent payments”
  • Issued by: California Department of Real Estate (state agency guide)
  • We use it for: the guide’s statement that a tenant is legally entitled to a written receipt whenever rent is paid, and its advice to ask for a signed, dated receipt when paying by cash or money order.
  • Underlying law: the guide cites California Civil Code § 1499. Cite that section, not the footnote number: in the guide’s web version the receipt sentence carries marker 168, while § 1499 is listed as footnote 169. We do not link the code page because the legislature’s site blocked our automated check, and we make no claim about § 1499 beyond the guide’s own statement.

Maryland

  • Source: Maryland Code, Real Property § 8-205
  • Issued by: Maryland General Assembly (statute text)
  • We use it for: subsection (b), receipts when a tenant pays in cash or asks for one; and subsection (a), the Anne Arundel County rule requiring a receipt showing the payment and period covered, except for check payments and commercial or business rentals.

Massachusetts

  • Source: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 186, § 15B
  • Issued by: Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature (General Laws text)
  • We use it for: subsection (2)(a), the receipt required when last month’s rent is collected in advance, including its required contents and interest and forwarding-address statements; and subsection (2)(b), the signed receipt for a security deposit. We do not use it for ordinary monthly rent.

New Jersey

  • Source: P.L. 2019, c.300 (approved January 13, 2020), section 3 codified at N.J.S.A. 46:8-49.2
  • Issued by: New Jersey Legislature (enacted session law)
  • We use it for: section 3, the printed or emailed receipt for each cash payment and its listed contents; section 1, the definition of “landlord” and its exclusions for small, owner-occupied and transient properties; and section 4, applicability to leases, renewals and extensions executed on or after enactment.

New York

  • Source: New York Real Property Law § 235-e
  • Issued by: New York State Senate (published text of the consolidated laws)
  • We use it for: subsections (a) through (c): receipts for cash and non-personal-check payments, receipts for personal checks after a written request, the required fields, the timing rules, and the three-year record requirement for cash receipts. Subsection (d), on late-payment notices, is outside our summary.

Oregon

  • Source: Oregon Revised Statutes § 90.140, in ORS Chapter 90 (2025 edition page)
  • Issued by: Oregon State Legislature
  • We use it for: subsection (2), a tenant’s right to requested written evidence of payment, the accepted forms of that writing, its required contents, and the reasonable-time rule for payments not made in person. The link opens the whole chapter; search the page for “90.140”.

Texas

  • Source: Texas Property Code § 92.011, Cash Rental Payments
  • Issued by: Texas Legislature (statutes site)
  • We use it for: subsections (a) and (b): accepting timely cash rent unless a written lease requires a traceable instrument, giving a written receipt, and recording cash payments in a record book. Subsection (c), on lawsuits and recovery, is outside our summary.

Washington

  • Source: Revised Code of Washington § 59.18.063
  • Issued by: Washington State Legislature
  • We use it for: subsection (2), a receipt for any cash payment the landlord accepts; and subsection (3), a written receipt for other payment forms on the tenant’s request. Subsection (1), on accepted payment methods, is outside our summary.

Federal tax guidance (IRS)

Two IRS pages support the short tax notes on the rent receipt template and rent receipt PDF template pages. They are general federal tax guidance, not receipt laws, and we do not use them to say what a receipt must contain.

IRS Publication 527

  • Source: Publication 527 (2025), Residential Rental Property
  • Issued by: Internal Revenue Service (federal tax agency publication, for use in preparing 2025 returns)
  • We use it for: the statement that in most cases you must include in gross income all amounts you receive as rent; that advance rent is included in rental income in the year you receive it; and that a security deposit you plan to return is not income when received, while an amount called a security deposit that is to be used as a final payment of rent is advance rent.
  • Checked:

IRS: How long should I keep records?

  • Source: How long should I keep records?
  • Issued by: Internal Revenue Service (web guidance for small businesses and the self-employed)
  • We use it for: the record-keeping periods on the PDF template page: keep records 3 years in most cases; 6 years if you do not report income that you should report and it is more than 25% of the gross income shown on your return; and indefinitely if you file a fraudulent return or do not file a return. The page lists other periods, for refund claims, worthless securities or bad debt deductions, and employment tax records, that our summary does not cover.
  • Checked: (the IRS page showed “Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 30-Jun-2026”)

How to read a statute citation

Take “N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-e(b)”. The first part names the code (New York’s Real Property Law), § 235-e is the section, and (b) is a subsection. Some codes split further, as in “§ 15B(2)(a)”, which means subsection (2), paragraph (a). “ORS” and “RCW” are Oregon’s and Washington’s compiled statutes. A session law such as “P.L. 2019, c.300” is the act as the legislature passed it; its sections are later placed into the compiled code, which is why section 3 of that act appears as N.J.S.A. 46:8-49.2. Agency guides usually cite the code section in a footnote, which is how the California guide points to Civil Code § 1499.

Which source wins

When sources disagree, we rank them this way:

  • The current statute text controls over any summary of it, including an agency guide.
  • An official agency guide outranks our summary and private commentary, but we do not use it to expand what a statute says.
  • Our summary comes last. If it differs from the linked law, follow the law and tell us.

Remember that other rules may also apply. A city ordinance, a housing program’s rules, a later amendment or a court decision can affect the answer. Check the page date and the law’s current text before relying on any summary.

Other references on this site

The rent receipt templates comparison links directly to vendor product and pricing pages. Those pages support product and price statements only, are dated on that page, and are not legal sources. Statements about how our own generator works come from its shipped code and our privacy policy, as described in the methodology.

This list is prepared by Cornelia Cove LLC with automated drafting tools and checked against the sources above. If a link breaks or a law changes, email partners@corneliacove.com.