Rental profit calculated correctly, the first time.

The rules are less obvious than they look

Rental income tax looks simple until you meet the detail. Finance cost relief on residential property is restricted to a basic-rate tax reducer rather than a deduction, which changed the maths for a great many higher-rate landlords. The distinction between a repair and an improvement determines whether a cost comes off income or off the eventual gain. Replacement of domestic items relief has its own conditions. Jointly owned property has its own rules, and they differ between spouses and everybody else.

None of this is impossible to get right. It is simply not intuitive, and the cost of getting it wrong lands on you rather than on whoever gave you the advice down the pub.

What we handle

• Rental accounts for single properties and full portfolios
• Self assessment returns including the property pages
• Allowable expenses reviewed properly — most landlords under-claim
• Finance cost relief calculated correctly
• Repairs versus capital improvements, decided and documented
• Joint ownership and beneficial interest questions
• Furnished holiday lets and rent-a-room
• Capital gains tax on disposal, planned in advance
• Whether incorporating your portfolio is genuinely worth it

Selling a property

Residential property disposals have a short reporting and payment window after completion — considerably tighter than the annual return most people are used to. Miss it and there are penalties on top of the tax. Speak to us before you exchange, not after you complete: the planning opportunities close on completion day.

Should I incorporate my portfolio?

It is the question we get asked most often, and the honest answer is usually “probably not, but let us check”. Transferring properties into a company can trigger capital gains tax and stamp duty land tax immediately, in exchange for benefits that accrue slowly. For some portfolios it is clearly right. For many it is an expensive answer to the wrong question. We will do the sums for your actual portfolio and tell you plainly.

Making Tax Digital hits landlords first

Landlords are squarely inside the first phase of MTD for Income Tax. If your gross rental and self-employment income together exceeds the threshold, quarterly digital updates already apply. See our Making Tax Digital page for what that means in practice.