Your tax bill is not 20% of what is left after the mortgage

You get a fixed monthly figure in writing after a 30-minute discovery call, priced on the number of properties, how they are owned, whether there is a company involved and how the records arrive. Four flats let on long tenancies through one agent, with statements that reconcile, is straightforward work. The same four with holiday lets, direct bookings and mixed personal spending is not. FreeAgent is included, worth up to £330 a year. Fees scale with the portfolio rather than jumping at arbitrary property counts, and we agree the figure before anything starts.

Section 24. Since it was phased in, an individual landlord cannot deduct mortgage interest as an ordinary expense; instead you receive a basic-rate tax credit worth 20% of the finance cost. So your taxable profit is calculated as though the interest was never paid, which can push you into a higher band on income the lender has already taken. For a higher-rate taxpayer that is tax on money you never saw. Companies are not affected in the same way, which is why incorporation gets discussed — but transferring existing property is rarely the simple win it looks like. See Section 24 explained.

Only after running the numbers, because the entry cost is real. Transferring property you already own is a disposal at market value: it can trigger Capital Gains Tax on the growth to date and Stamp Duty at the higher additional-property rates on the way in, plus early repayment charges and typically more expensive company mortgages. Against that you get full interest deduction and Corporation Tax rather than income tax rates. Broadly, it favours larger, growing, geared portfolios where profits stay in the company, and it goes badly for a single flat with a big latent gain. Buying the next one through a company is a much easier decision than moving the last one.

Revenue costs of letting: letting agent fees, insurance, ground rent and service charges, repairs, safety certificates, accountancy fees and the property allowance where it applies. What you cannot deduct as an expense is mortgage interest — that is the Section 24 credit — or capital improvements, which go against your Capital Gains Tax calculation instead. The repair-versus-improvement line is where most disputes sit: replacing a kitchen with an equivalent one is generally a repair, upgrading it substantially is not. Replacement of domestic items relief covers like-for-like furnishings in a let property, but not the initial fit-out. Keep the paperwork for improvements for as long as you own the property.

Report and pay the Capital Gains Tax within 60 days of completion through HMRC's UK Property Account, separately from your Self Assessment return. That deadline catches a lot of landlords, and the penalties run from it regardless of whether the gain was later reported correctly on the annual return. The gain is proceeds less original cost, buying and selling costs and qualifying improvements, less your annual exempt amount. If the property was ever your main home, private residence relief may cover part of the period. Get the figures worked out before completion — 60 days disappears quickly when the paperwork is with the solicitor.

Yes, on the same phased timetable as the self-employed, based on qualifying income — gross rental and self-employment income combined, before expenses. April 2026 for over £50,000, April 2027 for over £30,000 and April 2028 for over £20,000. From your date you keep digital records and submit quarterly updates plus an End of Period Statement and Final Declaration, rather than one annual return. It does not change your tax bill, only the reporting rhythm. The practical implication for landlords is that agent statements and property costs need to be captured through the year rather than assembled each January. See the MTD guide.

For a married couple or civil partners owning jointly, HMRC's default is a 50:50 split of income regardless of the actual beneficial shares, unless you own as tenants in common in unequal shares and submit a Form 17 declaration supported by evidence of those shares. Form 17 only applies from the date it is submitted, so doing it retrospectively at the year end does not work. For unmarried joint owners, income follows the actual beneficial ownership. Where one of you is a higher-rate taxpayer and the other is not, getting this right is one of the few genuinely simple tax savings still available to landlords.

Usually yes, and you should want to. Rental losses are carried forward against future profits from the same property business, so a year you do not report is relief you quietly lose. Filing also keeps the record straight if HMRC later queries the figures. Whether a return is required at all depends on your wider circumstances — property income above the reporting thresholds, or other untaxed income, will generally require one regardless of the result. If you have properties abroad, or a mix of furnished holiday lets and standard tenancies, the position is more involved and worth a conversation.