If you’re not sure whether to self-manage or put a lettings agent in charge of your property, here are the factors to consider: Time How much time do you have? And how do you value your time? It takes Swift around eight hours of work to find tenants, another two to four hours per month to manage a property, plus … Read More
Do you really need a lettings agent?
To manage or not to manage, that is the question. Do you let and manage your rental property yourself – there are plenty of new online services that can help – or use an agent? And how on earth do you find a good one? There are lots of scary stories of agents who take your money but do a … Read More
Rent-a-room Scheme: Save tax on letting to a lodger
Under the Rent-a-room Scheme, you can earn up to £7,500 a year tax free if you let out a furnished room, or even a whole floor (but not a separate flat), in your home to a lodger. ‘Woohoo,’ you may say. Yes, but there are a few things to watch out for to keep woohoo from turning into whoops: If … Read More
Buy-to-let tax guide: The lowdown for landlords living abroad
If you live overseas for six months or more while renting out a UK home, HMRC classes you as a ‘non-resident landlord’. You have to pay income tax in one of two ways. You either receive your rent in full and pay tax through self-assessment – to do this, you have to apply for approval from HMRC (gov.uk/tax-uk- income-live- abroad/rent) … Read More
Buy-to-let tax guide: How to cut capital gains tax when you sell
Capital gains tax (CGT) is only due when you sell your rental property. You pay this on the difference between the prices you bought and sold for, minus any expenses. Deductible expenses You can deduct the following from your capital gain: Buying costs. Remember that solicitor’s bill you’ve kept for 20 years? Now you can deduct all your capital expenses: … Read More
Buy-to-let tax guide: Five simple ways to be tax efficient
When it comes to buy-to-let income, there are simpler ways than setting up a company to be tax efficient: If you are married, make sure the lower earner owns the rental property – or most of it – to benefit from a lower tax band. You can transfer property between spouses through a simple legal process, without paying any tax. Profit … Read More
Buy-to-let tax guide: Should you set up a company?
There is one loophole in the new Section 24 tax rule on buy-to-let mortgage interest: it only applies to individuals. Companies can still deduct interest from profits as before – for now. No wonder the number of buy-to-let mortgages issued to companies doubled after the change was announced. So, should you join the rush and move your existing rental property to … Read More
Buy-to-let tax guide: Will Section 24 mortgage interest rules put you in the red?
Thanks to the Great Buy-to-let Bashing, mortgage interest payments – a legitimate cost of doing business – are no longer tax deductible. The innocuous-sounding “Section 24” tax rule was billed as a way to give first-time buyers a leg up against investors. (In 2015, the then Chancellor also slapped an extra 3% on stamp duty on all buy-to- let purchases. … Read More
Buy-to-let tax guide: What can you deduct?
They say no one is ever as modest about their income as when they’re filling in their tax return. Jokes aside, when it comes to buy-to- let tax, the name of the game is to deduct every cost you legitimately can. If you’re a 40% higher-rate taxpayer, every £100 expense you claim could cut your tax bill by £40. So … Read More
Beware the lettings tax clampdown
When you start letting out a property, you have to tell HMRC that you have a new income source from which they can squeeze money. Though they have no automatic way of finding out about this, don’t be tempted to keep schtum. As part of a clampdown on lettings tax evasion, HMRC gets data from estate agents, deposit protection schemes … Read More