There’s only one week to go before the self-assessment tax deadline on 31st January, with property investors and landlords who haven’t filed theirs warned to act quickly.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been sending out regular reminders to the majority of people who my owe tax due to either being self-employed, or those who have made any income that hasn’t been taxed at source.
This includes property investors and landlords who make above a certain threshold (currently £2,500 per tax year) from their rental property or properties. This income is subject to income tax, minus any allowable expenses that may apply.
The deadline for both filing a self-assessment tax return and paying any tax due is 31st January, and you may incur penalties if you miss this deadline. To do so, you must be registered on the government website, where you will receive your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) in order to file your return each year.
Paying tax on a property
The upcoming deadline relates to any taxable income made between April 2023 and April 2024. When you fill out your tax return, you can also add any expenses linked to the property – and landlords and property investors are encouraged to keep a record of any expenses in order to ensure they are paying the correct tax.
Everything that is spent on allowable property expenses can be deducted from your profits, reducing how much tax you owe. All expenses claimed must link wholly to the property, and must also be technically classed as revenue expenditure, meaning they allow you to generate an income through the property.
Expenses that property investors and landlords can claim when submitting their tax return include:
- Buildings/contents insurance
- Ground rent and service charges
- Maintenance services, such as window cleaning
- Maintenance and repair costs
- Professional services fees, such as for letting agents or accountants
Mortgage interest relief for property investors and landlords
Any property investors or landlords who have been in the business for a number of years will know that any interest payments on borrowing for property investments used to be classed as an allowable expense, meaning the full amount could be deducted from any rental income.
However, starting in 2017, this tax relief was phased down to 0%, meaning any interest paid on mortgages for investment property no longer counts as an allowable expense.
Instead, profits from rent are taxed with a maximum deduction for finance costs of 20% (the basic rate of income tax). Known as Section 24 of the Finance (no. 2) Act 2015, this change was controversial among many property investors and landlords at the time, particularly higher earners who are the most affected.
For anyone who began operating in the property sector since 2021, this rule change has been the norm. However, many in the industry continue to put pressure on the government to reverse Section 24 as a way of incentivising property investors and landlords, in order to boost the UK’s private rented sector.
Stay on top of the changes
Tax rules, rates and thresholds are always subject to change, so it is vital that property investors and landlords stay up to date with any immediate or upcoming changes.
This is particularly important since the UK had a change of government last year, which could mean additional property tax shifts are more likely. For example, the government has indicated that stamp duty thresholds will return to previous levels from April this year, while the stamp duty surcharge for property investors also increased in October to 5%.
If you haven’t yet filed your self-assessment tax return, you can do so on the government’s website. You can also stay up to date with the latest changes and trends in the UK property market here.