Vidhur (Finance director at Benham and Reeves)

Landlords need to be very careful and be sure they have declared all their property income on their UK tax returns and paid all monies due. Whether an underpayment is intentional or not, HMRC can now collect the tax due PLUS interest PLUS a impose a whopping 200% fine.

The Autumn Statement delivered by the UK government – one of the largest series of fiscal announcements for some decades – was previewed as one involving difficult decisions, higher taxes and public spending challenges. For once, perhaps, the spin doctors’ previews were not off the mark. The Chancellor – Jeremy Hunt – made clear that …

Continue reading “Autumn Statement 2022 – Impact on the property sector”

The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, spoke for only 25 minutes today but effectively turned the recent history of British tax policy on its head. Kwarteng says there are three economic priorities for the new government – Reforming the supply side of economy, responsible public finances and cutting taxes to promote growth. The …

Continue reading “The mini-budget – the new UK government’s plan for growth”

As lockdown restrictions lift in the UK, we are seeing the return of international investors to the London residential property market, with demand extremely high and homes with outside space driving market activity. But, there have been tax changes that could impact the market, particularly the new 2% Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) surcharge for …

Continue reading “London property and the return of international investors”

This year has been challenging for all of us but another issue that landlords need to address is the tax changes that have also taken place this year or are planned for next year. Landlords should consider the implications of these tax changes according to their own personal circumstances.

Making Tax Digital is a government initiative aimed at moving businesses and individuals (including landlords who own rental properties) towards keeping digital records and reporting digitally to HMRC instead of keeping traditional paper records. The aim is to make it easier and more efficient for businesses and individuals to maintain their tax records and submit …

Continue reading “Making Tax Digital – what does it mean for landlords?”

What is the new 2% Stamp Duty that will affect foreign buyers? Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in the recent budget that the government will be introducing a new 2% Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) surcharge for overseas investors not resident in the UK who buy residential property in England and Northern Ireland. This will take …

Continue reading “New rates of Stamp Duty for overseas property buyers from April 2021”

What is the 3% UK Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge? In 2016, the government introduced a 3% Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) surcharge for anyone buying an additional property in the UK. This applies to additional homes, buy-to-let properties and holiday homes. The 3% surcharge still applies, irrespective of the new, reduced Stamp Duty rates …

Continue reading “Stamp duty surcharge for those buying an additional residential property”

Higher rate tax relief for buy-to-let landlords now completely phased out Higher rate tax relief on finance costs (such as mortgage interest) for landlords who own residential (buy-to-let) properties has now been completely phased out. Tax relief for landlords who are higher rate tax payers has been gradually phased out over the last three years …

Continue reading “Higher rate tax relief phased out July 2020”

The government has reduced rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for property purchases in England and Northern Ireland. This is a temporary measure and applies to property purchases between July 8th 2020 and March 31st 2021. What will purchasers pay? Purchasers completing on a property (a main residence) valued at up to £500,000 will …

Continue reading “Government brings in temporary Stamp Duty reductions for property purchasers”

You may already be aware that recently there have been several changes to UK taxes and we are putting together a series of blogs to explain the key points. This blog focuses on the change to the type of tax paid by non-UK resident companies on profits from UK property. Click here to read information …

Continue reading “Non-UK resident companies that own UK property must now register for Corporation Tax”

The last few years have seen a number of changes to the UK’s tax regime with the latest coming into force on April 6th 2020. The changes affect the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) reporting deadlines and the amount payable when an individual sells a residential property that they have not used as their main home …

Continue reading “Changes to capital gains tax in 2020 – what you need to know”