Are you a Landlord? If so, do you have an accountant looking after your general tax affairs and your
rental property income & expenditure?
I want to tell you that it's not just the Labour & Liberal Democrat parties; and it's not just charities like Shelter; NO - HMRC are
also ‘gunning’ for Landlords!
HMRC have
stated that there are only 500,000 of their estimated 1.5
million private Landlords who have informed them that they get additional
income from renting out property.
HMRC have
said that they are setting about discovering those million or so private landlords who are,
in effect, evading tax.
Sadly, HMRC
can get data from Land Registry, Local Authorities & Utility companies. They can also force
accountants and Letting Agents to hand over details of their Landlords and how
much they have been paid going back several years.
The fines
for not telling HMRC about your rented properties can be substantial.
The good
news is that there are a number of expenditures that can be off-set against the
rental amount to reduce your tax liability, for example, Cass Properties fees
and repair costs (but not improvements or refurbishments).
A rental
knowledgeable accountant will help you navigate the tax pitfalls and deal with
HMRC on your behalf.
Call me on 01799 668233 for a chat about the rental market and our unique combination of service and fees - no obligation of any kind of course.
Steve Cass
