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Landlords Paying Tax on Rent

The taxation rules for landlords get updated on a regular basis in the United Kingdom. This guide explains the latest tax obligations for those who rent out a property.

PAYING TAX: You may be liable for Income Tax and National Insurance if you are renting out your property.

That means you must inform HM Revenue and Customs so you can pay Income Tax on any profit made. Failing to do so could result in a penalty.

Do You Run a Property Business?

If so, and your profits are more than £5,965 per year, you will need to pay Class 2 National Insurance. If all these circumstances apply to you then you are running a property business:

  1. Operating as a landlord is your main job.
  2. You are renting out more than one property.
  3. You buy new properties so you can rent them out.

Landlords making profits less than £5,965 can choose to make voluntary Class 2 NI payments. One reason for doing so is to ensure you qualify for the full State Pension.

Note: You only National Insurance if you are running a business. You can do some work without being part of a business operation. Examples include arranging tenancy agreements and making repairs.

Income from Property You Own Personally

Do you get income less than £2,500 a year from renting out your property? If so you should contact HM Revenue and Customs. But, you must report it on a Self Assessment tax return if you get income:

Note: You will need to register before 5th October following the tax year you had rental income if you do not usually send in a tax return.

How to Declare Unpaid Tax

The best way to declare unpaid tax is by informing HMRC about your rental income from any previous years. You may have to pay a penalty but it is lower than if HMRC discover the undeclared income themselves.

HMRC give you a disclosure reference number. The system grants you 3 months to calculate what tax you owe and pay it.

Income from Property Owned by a Company

Landlords should count rental income from a property owned by a company the same way as any other business income.

Costs You Can Claim

You can reduce income tax by claiming for costs in the normal way. But, there are different tax rules for:

Commercial Properties

Renting out a commercial property means you can claim plant and machinery capital allowances on some items (e.g. a garage, shop, or lock-up).

Residential Properties

You or your company are liable for tax on profit made from renting out the property. But, this will be after any deductions for 'allowable expenses'.

Allowable expenses means things you need in the day-to-day running of the property. Examples of payments for expenses include:

Note: Allowable expenses do not include 'capital expenditure'. That means buying the property or renovating it beyond normal repairs for wear and tear do not count.

You can usually claim tax relief on money paid for the 'replacement of domestic items relief'. Typical domestic items include:

Each domestic item must be for use by tenants living in a residential property. The replaced item must not get used any longer in that property.

You can claim replacement of domestic items relief from:

Furnished Residential Lettings

In some cases you can claim 'wear and tear allowance':

Furnished Holiday Lettings

As a rule, you can claim for these items for furnished holiday homes:

Note: You can only claim for these reliefs if all these conditions apply to you:

  1. The property gets offered to let for at least 210 days a year.
  2. It gets let for more than 105 days a year.
  3. No single let is over 31 days.
  4. You charge the going rate 'market rate' for similar properties in the same area.

Your profits count as earnings for pension purposes if you own the property personally.

How to Calculate Your Profit

You will need to work out the net profit (or loss) for all your property lettings as for a single business. The exception would be for furnished holiday lettings. Follow these steps to calculate your profit:

  1. Add up all your rental income
  2. Add up all your allowable expenses
  3. Deduct the expenses from the income

Calculate profit or loss from furnished holiday lettings separate from any other rental business. That ensures you only claim these tax advantages for eligible properties.

If You Make a Loss

You should deduct any losses from your profit and then enter the figure on your Self Assessment form. You can offset losses against:

Note: Offsetting losses against future profits must occur in the same business.

Landlords Paying Tax on Rent and National Insurance when Renting Out Your Property