Should Your Limited Company Pay You Rent for a Home Office?

rent home office to limited company

Tax, VAT, Planning, Capital Allowances and FRS 102 Explained

By Steve Bicknell FCMA, CGMA

If you run your limited company from home, you may already know about the familiar:

£6 per week / £312 per year

Homeworking reimbursement.

It is simple, potentially tax-free and involves very little administration.

But what if your company makes much greater use of your home?

Could you charge your company a commercial rent for using part of the property as an office?

Potentially, yes.

And the opportunity can go considerably further than simply replacing £312 with a larger payment.

Your company might also:

  • buy computers and office equipment;
  • claim capital allowances;
  • recover VAT where appropriate; and
  • obtain Corporation Tax relief on qualifying expenditure.

But creating a more formal home-office arrangement also introduces other questions:

  • Is the rent taxable personally?
  • What household costs can you claim?
  • Could it affect Private Residence Relief when you sell your home?
  • Does your mortgage lender need to agree?
  • Could business rates apply?
  • Do you need planning permission?
  • Would a Certificate of Lawfulness be useful?
  • What about insurance?
  • And, under the revised FRS 102 rules, does the home-office agreement need to appear on your company’s balance sheet as a lease?

That last point is particularly interesting because relatively few discussions of directors charging their companies home-office rent consider the new FRS 102 lease accounting rules.

The right question therefore isn’t simply:

“How much rent can I get out of my company?”

It is:

“What is the most tax-efficient and commercially sensible way for my company to use my home?”


Home Office Rent – Quick Answer

Yes. A director can potentially charge their limited company commercial rent for genuine business use of part of their home.

The company may obtain a Corporation Tax deduction.

The director normally reports the rent as property income and deducts allowable expenses when calculating the taxable profit.

But the arrangement can also affect:

VAT + CAPITAL ALLOWANCES + CGT + PLANNING + BUSINESS RATES + FRS 102

So it needs to be considered as a complete arrangement rather than simply another method of extracting cash.


£312 or Home-Office Rent?

Here’s the basic comparison:

£312 Homeworking ReimbursementHome-Office Rent
Potential amount£312 p.a.Potentially much higher
Tax on directorPotentially tax-freeTaxable property income
Corporation Tax deductionYesPotentially yes
Household costs against rentN/APotentially yes
Rental agreementNoAdvisable
Property income reportingNoPotentially yes
CGT/PRR considerationsMinimalNeeds consideration
Planning/property issuesUsually limitedPotentially greater
FRS 102 lease issueNoPotentially yes
AdministrationVery lowHigher

For many directors, £312 wins on simplicity.

But where the company genuinely occupies valuable workspace within the home, a commercial rental arrangement may produce a significantly better overall result.


Who Should Consider Charging Their Company Rent?

This is most worth considering where:

  • you work predominantly from home;
  • your company genuinely uses a dedicated room or substantial workspace;
  • meaningful household costs relate to that use;
  • business equipment or records are stored there;
  • the company buys substantial office equipment; or
  • £312 bears little relationship to the actual commercial value of the facilities being provided.

If you occasionally answer emails from the kitchen table, a formal rental arrangement may be unnecessary.


Option 1 – Keep It Simple: £312 a Year

Where the relevant conditions are satisfied, the company can reimburse qualifying additional homeworking expenses.

HMRC’s guideline rate is:

£6 per week

or:

£26 per month

giving:

£312 per year

For many owner-managed companies this remains attractive:

Company: potential Corporation Tax deduction

Director: potentially £312 tax-free

Administration: minimal

And importantly:

No rent + no property income + no rental agreement

We’ve previously looked at this in:

HMRC Update: New Evidence Rules for £312 Working From Home Allowance

That article has been one of our most popular recent working-from-home tax guides.

But £312 is still only £312.

What if your company genuinely uses substantially more of your home?


Option 2 – Charge Your Company Commercial Rent

Suppose your company regularly uses one room within your house as its office.

You could potentially put an agreement in place allowing the company to use that space and pay you rent.

The rent should reflect:

GENUINE BUSINESS USE + A REASONABLE COMMERCIAL AMOUNT

The basic mechanics become:

YOUR COMPANY

Pays rent

Potential Corporation Tax deduction

YOU

Receive property income

Deduct qualifying expenses

Pay Income Tax on the resulting property profit

This is fundamentally different from the £312 reimbursement.


Worked Example – £312 or £4,800 Rent?

Let’s use our fictional example:

Consultancy 4 Business Ltd

The director works predominantly from home and one room is regularly used for the company’s business.

After considering comparable local office space and the facilities being provided, a reasonable commercial rent is established at:

£400 per month

Annual rent:

£4,800

Suppose allowable household expenditure reasonably attributable to the arrangement amounts to:

£1,800

The personal property-income calculation is:

Amount
Rent received£4,800
Allowable expenses(£1,800)
Property profit£3,000

Now assume, purely for illustration, that Consultancy 4 Business Ltd obtains Corporation Tax relief at 25%.

Company tax saving:

£4,800 × 25% = £1,200

If the £3,000 property profit is taxed at the new 22% property basic rate from April 2027:

£3,000 × 22% = £660

Simplified tax difference:

£1,200 company tax saving

less

£660 personal tax

=

£540

before taking account of the wider circumstances.

This is deliberately simplified.

The actual result could be affected by:

  • the company’s Corporation Tax rate;
  • your other income;
  • property tax bands;
  • mortgage finance costs;
  • jointly owned property;
  • allowances;
  • dividends; and
  • your wider profit-extraction strategy.

But it demonstrates why this can be worth calculating.


Property Income Tax Changes From April 2027

There is another reason the numbers need modelling carefully.

From 6 April 2027, property income will have separate Income Tax rates of:

  • 22%
  • 42%
  • 47%

in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

So the relevant comparison isn’t simply:

£312 versus £4,800

It is:

COMPANY TAX SAVING versus PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX


How Much Rent Can You Charge?

Not:

“Whatever amount saves the most tax.”

The rent needs to be commercially supportable.

Relevant factors can include:

  • size of the workspace;
  • floor area;
  • facilities;
  • storage;
  • parking;
  • hours and days of use;
  • utilities provided;
  • broadband;
  • local office rents;
  • serviced-office alternatives; and
  • restrictions placed on you as homeowner.

Keep evidence.

That might include:

floor plan + local rental comparables + bills + calculation + written agreement

The target is:

REASONABLE + COMMERCIAL + EVIDENCED

How Do You Determine a Market Rent for a Home Office?

There is no HMRC table telling directors that a bedroom used as an office is worth £200, £300 or £500 per month.

The rent should instead be a reasonable commercial figure based on the space and facilities actually being provided to the company.

A sensible approach is to start by looking at comparable workspace in your area, such as:

  • small serviced offices;
  • individual office rooms;
  • coworking/private-office space;
  • small commercial units; and
  • similar workspace advertised locally.

Then adjust for the fact that a room within your home is not necessarily equivalent to a fully serviced commercial office.

Consider factors such as:

  • floor area;
  • location;
  • dedicated storage;
  • parking;
  • broadband and utilities;
  • access arrangements;
  • days and hours available to the company;
  • whether clients or staff can attend;
  • kitchen/toilet facilities; and
  • whether the room retains genuine domestic use.

For example, suppose comparable local office space costs £500 per month, but your company is only obtaining use of a room within your home, without independent access, reception facilities or exclusive 24-hour occupation.

A reasonable home-office rent might therefore be materially less than £500.

The important thing is to retain evidence showing how you arrived at the figure.

I would keep:

1. Local comparable rents

Screenshots or copies of local office and serviced-office advertisements.

2. Floor-area calculation

For example, the office represents 12% of the usable floor area of the house.

3. Facilities provided

Broadband, heating, electricity, furniture, parking and storage.

4. Restrictions on use

For example, no independent entrance, no client meetings or continuing domestic use.

5. A written calculation

Keep a short note with the rental agreement explaining why the agreed rent is commercially reasonable.

The aim is not to produce a formal RICS valuation for every spare bedroom.

It is to be able to demonstrate that the rent was arrived at commercially rather than simply being chosen to maximise a tax deduction.

Bicknell Business Advisers’ Tip: Review the rent periodically. A figure that was commercially reasonable when an agreement began may not remain appropriate indefinitely.


What Household Costs Can Be Considered?

Depending upon the circumstances, potentially relevant expenditure could include an appropriate share of:

  • electricity;
  • heating;
  • water;
  • council tax;
  • insurance;
  • broadband;
  • repairs;
  • cleaning; and
  • other appropriate household costs.

The method of apportionment needs to be reasonable.

You might consider:

ROOMS × FLOOR AREA × TIME USED

depending upon the circumstances.

Where a room has mixed use, both the business and private use need to be reflected.


Rent-a-Room Relief Doesn’t Normally Solve It

This is a common misconception.

The £7,500 Rent-a-Room Scheme relates to residential accommodation.

It doesn’t simply make business office rent paid by your company tax-free.

So:

“I’ll charge the company £7,500 and claim Rent-a-Room Relief.”

is generally not the answer for home-office accommodation.


Let the Company Equip the Office

This is an important additional opportunity.

Your company might require:

  • computers;
  • monitors;
  • printers;
  • desks;
  • chairs;
  • filing cabinets;
  • telephone equipment;
  • networking equipment; and
  • other business equipment.

Rather than buying everything personally from after-tax income, it may make more sense for the:

COMPANY TO BUY AND OWN THE EQUIPMENT


Capital Allowances on Home-Office Equipment

Qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery can potentially attract capital allowances.

Normal office equipment might include:

Computers

Monitors

Desks

Office chairs

Printers

Networking equipment

Depending upon the circumstances, the Annual Investment Allowance may provide 100% relief for qualifying expenditure.

But distinguish between:

EQUIPPING AN OFFICE

and:

BUILDING AN OFFICE

Buying a £2,000 computer is very different from spending £30,000 constructing a building in your garden.

That’s an important enough subject for a separate article:

Can Your Limited Company Pay for a Garden Office?

We’ll look at the tax, VAT, capital allowance, benefit-in-kind, CGT and planning issues separately.


VAT Can Make Company Purchases More Attractive

Suppose Consultancy 4 Business Ltd is VAT registered.

The company buys:

ItemNetVAT
Computer£2,000£400
Monitors£1,000£200
Desk/equipment£1,500£300
Total£4,500£900

If the purchases relate properly to the company’s taxable business activities and the usual VAT recovery conditions are satisfied:

Potential VAT recovery = £900

There may then also be tax relief through capital allowances on qualifying expenditure.

The cleanest evidence trail is usually:

COMPANY PURCHASE → COMPANY INVOICE → COMPANY ASSET → BUSINESS USE

Where there is significant private use, VAT and benefit-in-kind implications require separate consideration.


Planning – Can You Actually Run the Business From Home?

This is one of the most easily overlooked issues.

Tax relief does not give you planning permission.

A home-office arrangement could make complete sense for:

  • Corporation Tax;
  • VAT;
  • property income; and
  • accounting

but still create a separate planning issue.

The broad question is:

Does the property remain primarily a home, or has the business activity materially changed its character?


When Could Planning Permission Become Relevant?

There isn’t a simple:

one room = fine

two rooms = planning application

rule.

It depends on the facts and degree of use.

Warning signs can include:

  • employees attending regularly;
  • customers visiting;
  • frequent commercial deliveries;
  • increased traffic;
  • parking problems;
  • signage;
  • noise;
  • substantial storage;
  • alterations;
  • unusual business hours; or
  • a significant part of the house ceasing to function domestically.

Compare these examples.

Example 1 – Professional Working From Home

One director.

Computer-based work.

No employees.

No clients visiting.

No signage.

No significant deliveries.

The property remains overwhelmingly a home.

Example 2 – Home Becoming Business Premises

Five employees attend every weekday.

Clients visit throughout the day.

Vans regularly make deliveries.

Several rooms are permanently offices.

There is signage and increased parking.

That is much more likely to require planning consideration.


What If You’re Unsure? Certificate of Lawfulness

Where you believe the proposed home-business use does not require express planning permission, but you want greater certainty, you may be able to apply for a:

Certificate of Lawfulness of Proposed Use or Development

often referred to as a:

Lawful Development Certificate

or:

CLOPUD

This isn’t the same as asking the council for planning permission.

Instead, you are effectively asking:

“Based on the proposed facts, would this use be lawful without a separate planning permission?”

If granted, the certificate can provide useful evidence of the planning position.


What Should the Certificate Application Explain?

A useful application may need to explain matters such as:

  • which part of the property will be used;
  • nature of the business;
  • number of people working there;
  • working hours;
  • whether clients visit;
  • deliveries;
  • parking;
  • signage;
  • noise;
  • storage;
  • alterations; and
  • whether the space remains capable of domestic use.

The important point is that the certificate relates to the facts actually described.

If you obtain confirmation based on:

One director, no staff, no customers

but the business later develops into:

Five employees and regular customer visits

you shouldn’t simply assume the original certificate covers the changed circumstances.


What About Neighbours and Planning Notices?

Lawful Development Certificates are sometimes confused with conventional planning applications.

There isn’t generally the same statutory neighbour-consultation process as for a normal planning application.

However, the planning authority can seek evidence from neighbours or other parties if it considers that information relevant to determining whether the proposed use is lawful.

So the important thing is to provide a clear and accurate description of the proposed activity.


Why Could a Certificate of Lawfulness Be Useful?

It can potentially help later when dealing with:

  • sale of the house;
  • purchaser’s solicitor;
  • mortgage lender;
  • neighbour complaint;
  • planning enquiry; or
  • possible enforcement concerns.

It may therefore be worth considering where the business use is more substantial than simply working occasionally from a spare room, but you believe it remains lawful without express planning permission.


Check Your Mortgage

Don’t forget the lender.

A residential mortgage could contain restrictions concerning:

  • business use;
  • commercial occupation;
  • leases or licences;
  • subletting;
  • alterations; or
  • granting rights over part of the property.

This becomes particularly relevant once you propose signing an agreement granting your company rights over the home.

Tax efficiency doesn’t override your mortgage conditions.


Check Your Insurance Too

Your household insurance may not automatically cover all business use.

Potential issues include:

  • company-owned computers;
  • stock;
  • equipment;
  • employees;
  • customers visiting; and
  • additional liability risks.

Make sure the insurer has enough information to ensure the appropriate cover remains in place.


Could Business Rates Apply?

Potentially.

A normal small home office does not automatically become separately rateable business premises.

But the risk increases where the area is clearly separated and used commercially.

Relevant factors could include:

  • exclusive business use;
  • physical alteration;
  • employees;
  • customers;
  • signage; and
  • separation from the domestic accommodation.

A useful general principle is:

MORE COMMERCIAL OCCUPATION = MORE PROPERTY CONSEQUENCES


Don’t Accidentally Create a CGT Problem

Private Residence Relief normally protects the gain on your main home.

But where part of the property is used exclusively for business, relief can potentially be restricted on that part.

That is why the agreement should reflect reality.

A room used:

Monday-Friday as an office and genuinely as a spare room at other times

may be very different from:

a permanently exclusive company office

The attached material similarly highlights the distinction between mixed use and exclusive business use for Private Residence Relief purposes.

Don’t manufacture artificial personal use.

But equally:

Don’t give the company more exclusive rights than it genuinely needs.

This matters for:

CGT + PLANNING + FRS 102


The New FRS 102 Home-Office Lease Issue

This is where I think the article becomes particularly distinctive.

For accounting periods beginning on or after:

1 JANUARY 2026

FRS 102 Section 20 introduced a substantially revised lessee-accounting model.

Previously, a straightforward operating lease might simply produce:

Profit & Loss Account

Rent expense

Balance Sheet

No corresponding lease asset or lease liability.

Under revised FRS 102, many qualifying leases are brought onto the lessee’s balance sheet.

The company may recognise:

RIGHT-OF-USE ASSET

and:

LEASE LIABILITY

The supporting accounting analysis identifies the same right-of-use model and replacement of straight rental expense with depreciation and interest for most FRS 102 lessee arrangements.


Calling It a Licence Doesn’t Necessarily Stop It Being a Lease

Suppose the document is headed:

Home Office Licence to Occupy

That doesn’t automatically determine the accounting treatment.

FRS 102 looks at the substance of the arrangement.

If your company obtains the right to control use of an identified asset for a period in exchange for consideration, the arrangement could contain a lease.

For example:

“The first-floor study measuring 14 square metres”

is much more clearly an identified asset than a general permission:

“The company may use suitable workspace somewhere within the house as available.”

The underlying analysis similarly notes that identifying and controlling a particular room can cause a home-office arrangement to fall within revised Section 20 even if the document is called a licence.


FRS 102 Worked Example – Consultancy 4 Business Ltd

Let’s use the same company.

Consultancy 4 Business Ltd enters into an arrangement for use of an identified room.

Assume:

Monthly payment

£400

Lease term

3 years

Number of payments

36

Total contractual payments:

£400 × 36 = £14,400

Now assume, purely for illustration:

Discount rate = 5% per annum

The precise rate would need to be determined under the requirements of FRS 102.

The present value of the payments is approximately:

£13,350

Assuming no material initial direct costs, incentives or prepayments, the opening accounting entry might therefore be approximately:

Debit

Right-of-use asset £13,350

Credit

Lease liability £13,350

Nothing about the monthly £400 cash payment has changed.

But the accounting has.


What Happens in Year One?

Assume the right-of-use asset is depreciated evenly over three years.

Opening ROU asset

£13,350

divided by:

3 years

gives approximate annual depreciation of:

£4,450

The lease liability also attracts interest.

Using our simplified 5% assumptions and monthly payments, first-year interest would be approximately:

£580

So instead of the Profit & Loss Account simply showing:

Rent expense £4,800

it may approximately show:

Year 1 chargeAmount
Depreciation£4,450
Finance/interest expense£580
Total approximate P&L charge£5,030

Meanwhile, cash paid remains:

£4,800

This illustrates the front-loading effect of lease interest.


What Could Consultancy 4 Business Ltd’s Balance Sheet Show?

At commencement:

Right-of-use asset

£13,350

Lease liability

£13,350

After roughly one year:

ROU asset

£13,350

less depreciation £4,450

=

£8,900

The remaining lease liability might be approximately:

£9,130

depending on the exact amortisation calculation.

The accounts might therefore contain approximately:

Fixed / Non-Current Assets

Right-of-use property asset:

£8,900

Creditors – amounts falling due within one year

Lease liability:

approximately £4,400

Creditors – amounts falling due after more than one year

Lease liability:

approximately £4,700

The precise current/non-current split would come from the full lease amortisation schedule.


Same £400 a Month – Different Accounts

This is perhaps the simplest way of understanding the new rules.

Old Operating Lease TreatmentRevised FRS 102
Cash rent paid£4,800£4,800
Rent expense£4,800
Depreciation~£4,450
Interest~£580
Right-of-use assetNoYes
Lease liabilityNoYes
Rent reduces EBITDAYesNo

The cash flow hasn’t changed.

But:

THE PROFIT PRESENTATION AND BALANCE SHEET HAVE

Potential impacts can include:

  • higher reported assets;
  • higher liabilities;
  • changed EBITDA;
  • changed gearing;
  • increased finance costs; and
  • potentially altered lender covenant calculations.

For a very small home-office payment these figures may be immaterial.

For a larger director-owned company with a substantial multi-year arrangement, the issue deserves proper consideration.


Could a 12-Month Arrangement Be Simpler?

Potentially.

Revised FRS 102 includes a recognition exemption for qualifying:

SHORT-TERM LEASES

Broadly, where the relevant conditions are met and the exemption is elected, payments can continue to be recognised as expenses rather than creating a right-of-use asset and lease liability.

The supporting material identifies the exemption for qualifying leases with a term of 12 months or less.

But don’t create a fictional:

“12-month agreement renewed automatically forever”

simply to avoid lease accounting.

The actual rights and commercial substance need to support the accounting treatment.


What If the Company Uses FRS 105?

This distinction is very important.

Don’t automatically apply the revised FRS 102 lease model to every small owner-managed company.

Many micro-entities report under:

FRS 105

The accounting treatment can therefore be different.

The first question should always be:

FRS 102 OR FRS 105?

before calculating a right-of-use asset and lease liability.


Related-Party Disclosure

There is another accounting point.

The director/homeowner and their own company are related parties.

A home-office rental arrangement therefore needs to be considered under the applicable related-party disclosure rules.

For FRS 102 entities, relevant matters can potentially include:

  • nature of the relationship;
  • amount paid;
  • outstanding balances;
  • lease terms; and
  • commitments.

The attached analysis identifies home-office rent as a related-party transaction and leases/commitments as potentially relevant disclosure matters.


Putting Everything Together

Consultancy 4 Business Ltd:

  • uses a room in the director’s home;
  • pays £400 per month;
  • is VAT registered;
  • buys its own office equipment;
  • and applies FRS 102.

Rent

£4,800 per year

Equipment

Computer/monitors:

£3,000 + £600 VAT

Furniture/equipment:

£1,500 + £300 VAT

Potential considerations include:

COMPANY

Home-office payment:

£4,800

Qualifying equipment expenditure:

£4,500

Potential VAT recovery:

£900

subject to the normal conditions.

DIRECTOR

Rental income:

£4,800

less qualifying expenditure.

CGT

Avoid unnecessary exclusive business rights where genuine domestic use continues.

PLANNING

Check whether the use remains incidental to residential occupation.

Consider a Certificate of Lawfulness where useful.

MORTGAGE

Check lender restrictions.

INSURANCE

Ensure business use and equipment are appropriately covered.

FRS 102

If the agreement constitutes a three-year lease:

approximately:

£13,350 opening ROU asset

and:

£13,350 opening lease liability

rather than simply £400 rent expense every month.

This is why the arrangement should be considered as:

ONE COMPLETE PACKAGE


12 Questions to Ask Before Charging Your Company Home-Office Rent

  1. Does the company genuinely need the workspace?
  2. What is a commercially supportable rent?
  3. Who legally owns the home?
  4. What household expenditure can be allocated?
  5. Will genuine domestic use continue?
  6. Should the company buy the office equipment?
  7. Can capital allowances be claimed?
  8. Can VAT be recovered?
  9. Does planning permission need consideration?
  10. Would a Certificate of Lawfulness provide useful certainty?
  11. Have the mortgage and insurance conditions been checked?
  12. Does revised FRS 102 lease accounting apply?

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my limited company pay me rent for a room in my home?

Potentially yes, where there is genuine business use and the amount is commercially supportable.

Is the rent tax-free?

No. It is generally property income, although qualifying expenses may reduce the taxable profit.

Is the £312 allowance simpler?

Yes. In many cases it is considerably simpler and involves much less administration.

Can my company buy the office computer, furniture and equipment?

Potentially yes. Qualifying expenditure can potentially attract capital allowances and, where appropriate, VAT recovery.

Will I lose Private Residence Relief?

Not necessarily. The particular CGT concern is exclusive business use of part of the home.

Do I need planning permission?

Not necessarily. Incidental homeworking may not amount to a material change of use, but more substantial commercial activity should be checked.

What is a Certificate of Lawfulness?

It can provide formal confirmation from the planning authority that the proposed use or development described in the application would be lawful.

Does a licence count as a lease under FRS 102?

Potentially. The accounting treatment depends upon the substance of the company’s rights rather than simply the title printed on the agreement.

Will the home-office arrangement appear on the balance sheet?

Where FRS 102 applies, the arrangement contains a lease and no recognition exemption is available, potentially yes.


Download Our Example Home Office Licence Agreement

If you’re considering charging your company rent, we’ve prepared an example Word template covering:

  • the workspace;
  • permitted company use;
  • genuine continuing domestic use;
  • rent;
  • household outgoings;
  • company equipment;
  • planning;
  • mortgage and insurance;
  • visitors and employees;
  • termination;
  • FRS 102 review; and
  • a pre-signing checklist.

[Download the Example Home Office Licence Agreement]

The template should be adapted to the circumstances. More substantial property rights or formal commercial occupation may require specific legal advice.


Bicknell Business Advisers’ Home Office Review

Before putting an arrangement in place:

USE → RENT → TAX → EQUIPMENT → VAT → PROPERTY → PLANNING → ACCOUNTING → AGREEMENT

USE

What does the company genuinely need?

RENT

What is the commercial value of the space and facilities?

TAX

What does the company save and what personal tax arises?

EQUIPMENT

What should the company purchase and own?

VAT

What input VAT can properly be recovered?

PROPERTY

Consider CGT, business rates, mortgage and insurance.

PLANNING

Does the use require permission or would a Certificate of Lawfulness provide useful certainty?

ACCOUNTING

FRS 102 or FRS 105?

Does the agreement contain a lease?

Does an exemption apply?

AGREEMENT

Only then document what has actually been agreed.


Bicknell Business Advisers’ Advice

The mistake is focusing only on:

“How much rent can I charge my company?”

A proper home-office review potentially involves:

CORPORATION TAX

PERSONAL TAX

VAT

CAPITAL ALLOWANCES

CGT

PLANNING

MORTGAGE / INSURANCE / BUSINESS RATES

FRS 102

For some directors, the conclusion will be:

JUST CLAIM £312

For others, particularly where their company makes substantial genuine use of their home, a properly structured rental arrangement could be considerably more valuable.

The key is to calculate the whole position before signing the agreement.


How We Can Help

At Bicknell Business Advisers, we can help directors and owner-managed companies assess whether renting part of the home to the company makes financial and commercial sense.

We can assist with:

  • £312 versus rent calculations;
  • commercial rent calculations;
  • household-cost apportionments;
  • Corporation Tax;
  • property Income Tax;
  • VAT;
  • capital allowances;
  • CGT and Private Residence Relief;
  • FRS 102 lease assessment;
  • right-of-use asset calculations;
  • lease-liability schedules;
  • related-party accounting; and
  • home-office rental documentation.

Where specialist planning or property-law advice is required, those issues can be identified before documents are signed.

About the Author

Steve Bicknell FCMA, CGMA is Managing Director of Bicknell Business Advisers Limited, specialising in property taxation, landlord tax planning, SDLT, Capital Gains Tax and property company structures throughout the UK.

The Biggest Tax Mistakes Made by New Landlords

Get Expert Help

Becoming a landlord can seem like a straightforward way to generate additional income and build long-term wealth. However, many first-time landlords quickly discover that property taxation is far more complex than expected.

HMRC has increased its focus on property income in recent years, and simple mistakes can lead to unnecessary tax bills, penalties, and costly investigations.

Here are some of the most common tax mistakes new landlords make — and how to avoid them.


1. Not Registering for Self Assessment

One of the biggest misconceptions among new landlords is assuming that HMRC will automatically know about their rental income through mortgage companies, letting agents, or the Land Registry.

Unfortunately, that is not how it works.

If you receive rental income from a property, you are generally required to register for Self Assessment and submit annual tax returns. HMRC register-for-self-assessment

When Must You Register?

You normally need to register if:

  • Your rental income exceeds £1,000 in a tax year
  • You make taxable profits from property
  • You already complete tax returns for other reasons

https://www.gov.uk/renting-out-a-property/paying-tax

The Risks of Not Registering

Failing to register can result in:

  • Late filing penalties
  • Interest charges
  • HMRC investigations
  • Higher penalties for deliberate non-disclosure

HMRC now receives increasing amounts of data from:

  • Letting agents
  • Deposit schemes
  • Airbnb and online rental platforms
  • Mortgage providers

As a result, undeclared rental income is becoming much easier for HMRC to identify.

Practical Tip

If you have recently started renting out a property and have not yet informed HMRC, it is usually better to make a voluntary disclosure before HMRC contacts you. We have help many new client with voluntary disclosures.


2. Missing Allowable Expenses

Many new landlords end up paying more tax than necessary simply because they fail to claim legitimate expenses.

Rental tax is based on profit, not rental income. That means you should deduct allowable business expenses before calculating your tax liability.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/income-tax-when-you-rent-out-a-property-working-out-your-rental-income

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/changes-to-tax-relief-for-residential-landlords-how-its-worked-out-including-case-studies

Common Allowable Expenses

Landlords can usually claim:

  • Letting agent fees
  • Insurance
  • Repairs and maintenance
  • Council tax and utilities (if paid by the landlord)
  • Accountancy fees
  • Replacement furniture and appliances
  • Service charges and ground rent
  • Advertising costs

Repairs vs Improvements

This is an area that often causes confusion.

Generally:

  • Repairs are deductible
  • Improvements are capital expenses and may only reduce Capital Gains Tax when the property is sold

For example:

  • Replacing a broken boiler with a similar model is normally a repair
  • Upgrading to a significantly enhanced heating system may be treated as an improvement

Mortgage Interest Restrictions

Many landlords are also caught out by the mortgage interest rules introduced under Section 24.

Individual landlords can no longer deduct mortgage interest in full when calculating profits. Instead, they receive a basic rate tax credit.

This means some landlords pay tax on profits that are much higher than their actual cash surplus.


3. Joint Ownership Issues

Couples often purchase rental properties together, but many fail to consider how ownership structure affects taxation.

By default, HMRC usually assumes rental income for married couples is split 50:50, regardless of actual ownership proportions.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-declaration-of-beneficial-interests-in-joint-property-and-income-17

This can create unnecessary tax exposure if:

  • One spouse is a higher-rate taxpayer
  • One spouse has unused personal allowances or lower tax rates

The Importance of Beneficial Ownership

In some cases, couples can structure ownership differently to improve tax efficiency.

However, this must be properly documented.

Simply deciding between yourselves how to split the income is not enough.

Where appropriate, couples may need:

  • A declaration of trust
  • Form 17 submitted to HMRC
  • Legal advice regarding ownership arrangements

A Common Mistake

Many landlords assume that because one person “manages the property”, all income can be declared on their tax return.

HMRC looks at legal and beneficial ownership, not who deals with the tenants.


4. Poor Record-Keeping

Good record-keeping is essential for landlords, yet it is one of the most overlooked areas.

https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/records

Many landlords:

  • Lose receipts
  • Mix personal and rental spending
  • Fail to track mileage or expenses
  • Cannot evidence repairs carried out years earlier

This becomes a serious issue if HMRC opens an enquiry.

What Records Should Landlords Keep?

You should retain:

  • Rental statements
  • Bank records
  • Invoices and receipts
  • Mortgage interest certificates
  • Tenancy agreements
  • Mileage logs
  • Purchase and legal documents

Records should generally be kept for at least:

  • 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline

Digital Record Keeping

With Making Tax Digital expected to expand further in future years, digital record-keeping will become increasingly important.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-to-use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax

Using:

  • Cloud accounting software
  • Separate bank accounts
  • Digital receipt storage

can save significant time and reduce errors.


Final Thoughts

Property can be a strong long-term investment, but many new landlords underestimate the importance of proper tax planning and compliance.

The most common mistakes — failing to register with HMRC, missing expenses, structuring ownership incorrectly, and poor record-keeping — can all become expensive problems later.

Taking advice early and setting up good systems from the start can help landlords:

  • Reduce tax liabilities legitimately
  • Avoid penalties
  • Improve profitability
  • Stay compliant with HMRC

If you are a new landlord and want to ensure your property affairs are structured correctly, professional advice can often save far more than it costs.

Book a meeting to discuss how we can help

We also have the following useful resources

Property Fact Sheets | Bicknell Business Advisers

Monthly Property Newsletter | Bicknell Business Advisers

Tax Benefits of Incorporating Your Property Portfolio

Many UK landlords are exploring the idea of holding their buy-to-let properties in a limited company structure. This trend has accelerated in recent years as tax reforms have made traditional personal ownership less profitable for higher-rate taxpayers. By incorporating a property portfolio, investors can potentially reduce their tax bills, take advantage of business tax treatment, and plan more effectively for the future. Below, we outline the key tax advantages of operating through a limited company – from lower tax rates on rental profits to full mortgage interest relief, inheritance tax planning, and deferring personal taxes. We also highlight some important drawbacks (like added costs and Stamp Duty) that need to be weighed in any decision.

Lower Corporation Tax on Rental Profits

One of the main reasons landlords incorporate is to pay Corporation Tax on rental profits instead of Income Tax. Rental income received by an individual is added to their other income and taxed at their marginal income tax rate (which for higher earners is 40% or even 45%). In contrast, profits in a company are subject to Corporation Tax – currently 19% for small profits, up to 25% for larger profits (as of April 2023). Even at the new 25% rate, this can be significantly lower than personal tax rates for many landlords. For example, a higher-rate taxpayer with £20,000 of annual rental profit would face around £8,000 of Income Tax, whereas a company paying the small profits rate might owe just ~£3,800 in Corporation Tax – leaving much more after-tax profit to reinvest. Put simply, paying 19–25% Corporation Tax instead of 40–45% Income Tax can dramatically lessen a landlord’s tax bill. This is especially beneficial if you’re already in a high tax bracket or if the rental profits push you into one.

It’s important to note that the tax advantage exists at the company level. If you want to draw the profits out for personal use, you’ll then pay personal tax (for example, dividend tax) on those withdrawals. We’ll discuss this more under “retained profits,” but the key idea is that keeping profits inside the company is taxed more lightly up front than taking them personally. In summary, operating via a company converts rental income into corporate profits, taxable at generally lower rates than personal income – a fundamental tax saving for many property investors.

Full Mortgage Interest Deductibility

Another major driver for incorporation is the mortgage interest relief treatment. In recent years, individual landlords have lost the ability to fully deduct mortgage interest from their rental income. Under Section 24 rules (phased in from 2017), individual buy-to-let owners can only claim a basic-rate tax credit (20%) on their finance interest, rather than deducting it as an expense. This means higher-rate taxpayers effectively pay tax on part of their mortgage interest, significantly increasing their tax bills on geared properties. For example, an individual landlord paying £10,000 in mortgage interest annually only gets a £2,000 tax credit now, even if they are in the 40% tax band (whereas prior to Section 24 they would have deducted the £10k and saved £4,000 in tax). This change has turned many geared portfolios barely profitable or even loss-making on a post-tax basis for higher-rate landlords.

Limited companies are not subject to Section 24. When you hold property in a company, the mortgage interest is treated as a business expense – it can be deducted in full against rental income before calculating taxable profit. The company’s tax bill is thus based on net profit after interest, just like any other business. All the interest costs provide tax relief at the Corporation Tax rate. In practice, this restores the old tax treatment: the full mortgage interest offset can result in substantial tax savings for highly leveraged investors. For instance, if your rental property earns £15,000 in rent and has £10,000 in mortgage interest, an individual higher-rate landlord would still be taxed on the full £15,000 (with only a £2k credit), whereas a company landlord is taxed only on the £5,000 net profit – a far smaller taxable base.

This difference is a key reason 69% of landlords plan to buy new rental properties via limited companies. By using a company, landlords can maintain interest as a deductible expense and avoid the punitive effective tax rates that Section 24 created for personally owned properties. In short, incorporation can preserve interest relief and keep your financing costs fully tax-deductible – critical for those with mortgages on their rentals.

Inheritance Tax Planning via Company Structures

Using a company can also open up inheritance tax (IHT) planning opportunities for landlords who want to pass their property wealth to the next generation. If you own properties personally, it can be complicated and costly (in terms of IHT and Capital Gains Tax) to transfer bits of property to your children or other heirs during your lifetime. However, with a company, you have much more flexibility in transferring ownership gradually by way of shares. You can bring family members in as shareholders or directors, and gift or sell shares in the company over time, rather than having to slice up the property titles themselves. Small transfers of shares can potentially be done within annual gift allowances or via trust planning, helping to reduce the taxable value of your estate bit by bit.

More sophisticated planning is also possible. Many advisers use Family Investment Companies with special share classes (sometimes called “freezer shares”) to control how future growth in the company is allocated between generations. For example, parents can retain a class of shares that hold the current value of the portfolio, and issue a new class of shares to their children that will accrue all future growth in value. This effectively “freezes” the parents’ estate at today’s value for IHT purposes, while any appreciation in the property portfolio from this point forward happens in the children’s shares. As a result, if the properties continue to grow in value, that growth can bypass the parents’ estate (and thus avoid inheritance tax) and belong to the next generation. Crucially, when set up correctly, this does not trigger immediate tax – the new shares have only nominal value initially, so parents aren’t making a taxable transfer of substantial value at the time of structuring.

It should be noted that standard buy-to-let companies are usually considered investment companies for tax purposes, which currently do not qualify for Business Property Relief (BPR) – a relief that can make certain business assets IHT-free after two years. (BPR is generally available for trading businesses, not passive investment portfolios.) However, with careful planning, some landlords restructure activities to become more active property businesses (e.g. development or holiday lets) or use the share structuring techniques mentioned above to mitigate IHT. In any case, holding properties in a company gives greater flexibility to plan for inheritance, allowing strategies like gifting shares, issuing growth shares, or using trusts. This can substantially reduce the inheritance tax eventually due on the portfolio, compared to simply holding properties until death and leaving them in a will with a 40% IHT exposure. Given that property values often far exceed the IHT nil-rate bands, this kind of planning can save heirs a significant tax bill in the long run.

Retaining Profits and Deferring Personal Tax

A less immediate but powerful benefit of a company structure is the ability to retain profits within the company, deferring any personal tax liability. If you own properties personally, any profit (after expenses) is yours – which also means it gets taxed as part of your personal income each year. But within a company, you have a choice: you can pay out profits to yourself (as salary or dividends) or you can simply leave the profits in the company to reinvest or pay down debt. The profits that are retained in the company only suffer Corporation Tax in that year. No further tax is due until you decide to extract the money for personal use. This creates a valuable tax-deferral advantage.

For example, suppose your property company makes £50,000 in profit this year. The company will pay, say, 19% Corporation Tax (if within the small profits limit), leaving about £40,500 after tax. If you don’t need that money personally right away, you can reinvest the £40k into buying another property or improving existing ones. No personal tax is triggered because you haven’t taken a dividend or salary from those profits. In contrast, if you owned the portfolio personally and earned £50,000 net profit, you’d pay income tax on it in the same tax year – possibly £20,000 (40%) if you’re a higher-rate taxpayer – leaving you only £30k to reinvest. Over time, this ability to reinvest a larger portion of your earnings (since only the lower corporate tax is taken out) can accelerate the growth of your portfolio.

Another way to view this is that a company lets you time your personal tax events for when it’s most efficient. You might choose to take dividends in years when your other income is low, or spread dividends over time to stay in lower tax bands. Or you might retain profits until retirement, using them to fund a future income when you stop other work. There is also the possibility of extracting some profit as a modest salary (which can be set to use your personal allowance tax-free) and some as dividends, achieving a tax-efficient mix. The key point is flexibility – a company gives you much more control over when and how you take income, allowing you to defer or minimize personal taxes in a way an individual landlord cannot.

Of course, whenever you do draw the profits out, you’ll pay personal tax at that point (dividend taxes, which are currently 8.5% basic rate, 33.75% upper rate, etc., after a small allowance). This means incorporation isn’t about avoiding personal tax altogether, but about delaying it and potentially reducing it. For many investors, the strategy is to use retained earnings for growth and only take out what they need when they need it – thereby maximising the funds kept in the low-tax company environment. This can be especially useful if your goal is to build a larger portfolio for the long term, or if you already have other income and don’t require the rental profits immediately.

Potential Drawbacks of Incorporating

Incorporating a property portfolio isn’t a one-way ticket to tax savings; it comes with its own costs and complications. It’s crucial to weigh these drawbacks against the benefits discussed above. Here are some key considerations to keep in mind before you rush to set up a property company:

  • Upfront Transfer Costs (Stamp Duty and CGT): If you are moving existing properties from personal ownership into a new company, it isn’t as simple as “re-registering” them – you typically have to “sell” the properties to your company at market value. This can trigger Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on the transfer, as well as potential Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on any increase in value of the properties. The company will pay SDLT just like any buyer (including the 5% additional rate), and you, as the seller, could face CGT on the gain (18% or 28% for residential property, depending on your tax band). There are some reliefs available – for instance, Incorporation Relief under certain conditions – but many landlords find that incorporating an existing portfolio can come with a hefty upfront tax bill. It’s essential to calculate these costs to see if the long-term tax savings justify the immediate hit.
  • Ongoing Compliance and Administration: Running a limited company means more paperwork and expense. You’ll need to file annual accounts and confirmation statements at Companies House, submit Corporation Tax returns to HMRC, keep proper company books, and likely pay an accountant to ensure all this is done correctly. If you pay yourself a salary or take dividends, there are additional reporting requirements (PAYE payroll filings, dividend documentation, etc.). In short, the administrative burden is higher than just declaring rental income on a personal Self-Assessment. These compliance costs will eat into the financial benefits of incorporation. Landlords should factor in accountancy fees and the value of their time. For a single property or small portfolio, the savings may not outweigh these extra costs – incorporation tends to make more sense as the portfolio (and the tax saving) grows larger.
  • Double Tax when Extracting Profits: As discussed, while profits inside the company are taxed at a lower rate, when you take money out for personal use you’ll face personal tax. Typically this is via dividends (since most buy-to-let company owners don’t put themselves on a large salary). Dividend tax rates are lower than income tax rates, but they still apply. For example, after the first £500 of dividends (2024–25 allowance), a basic-rate taxpayer pays 8.5% and a higher-rate taxpayer 33.75%. This second layer of tax can reduce the overall advantage, especially if you withdraw most of the profits each year. In a scenario where a landlord wants to live off the rental income fully, the combined Corporation Tax + Dividend Tax might not be much better than simply paying Income Tax personally. The benefit is greatest when you reinvest or hold profits in the company. If you need all the cash out, the benefit shrinks (though you could still gain some advantage up to the basic-rate band, etc.). It’s important to plan distributions carefully. In other words, the “tax deferral” only helps if you actually defer taking the income; otherwise, you end up with two layers of tax. (On the plus side, if you plan to eventually sell the company or its properties, having paid down debt with retained profits, you might take profits via a capital route or at a time when tax rates are different. It adds strategic options, but requires foresight.)
  • Mortgage Availability and Costs: Many landlords don’t realize that getting a mortgage through a company can be a bit more involved. Fewer lenders cater to limited company buy-to-lets (often these are considered Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)), and interest rates can be slightly higher to account for perceived additional risk. Lenders will almost always require personal guarantees from the directors/shareholders for small property companies, effectively tying your personal liability to the debt anyway. You might also find arrangement fees higher or loan-to-value ratios slightly lower. This isn’t a tax issue per se, but it does affect the overall profitability of the investment. It’s worth checking with mortgage brokers what rates/terms your company could get versus personal mortgages. With interest rates currently higher than they’ve been in recent years, even a small rate difference can outweigh some tax savings. Always factor in financing costs under a company structure.
  • Loss of Personal Allowances/Reliefs: Holding property in a company means you personally no longer get certain perks. For instance, individuals each have a Capital Gains Tax annual exemption (£3,000 for 2024–25) that can be used against property sales – companies do not get this; every pound of gain is taxed. Likewise, if you have any personal rental losses carried forward, those can’t be used by the company. A company also doesn’t benefit from your personal tax-free allowance (though you could use that via a salary). These trade-offs are usually minor compared to the big-ticket items above, but they are part of the picture. If you anticipate selling properties, remember a company’s sale profits are taxed at Corporation Tax rates (which could be higher than the 18% basic-rate CGT for individuals, for example).

In summary, incorporation has pros and cons. The tax benefits – lower tax on profits, full interest deductibility, potential IHT advantages, and flexibility of profit withdrawal – need to be balanced against the costs and practicalities – immediate taxes on transferring in, ongoing administrative costs, double taxation on extraction, and financing considerations. For some landlords (especially higher-rate taxpayers with multiple properties they plan to hold long-term), the scales tilt in favor of incorporation. For others (small-scale or basic-rate landlords, or those planning to sell in the short term), staying as an individual may be simpler and more cost-effective.

Conclusion

Choosing whether to hold your property investments through a limited company is a significant decision that should be evaluated case by case. This structured approach can offer substantial tax savings and planning flexibility for the right investor profile – particularly those looking to grow portfolios and pass on wealth efficiently. We’ve seen that lower corporate tax rates, unrestricted mortgage interest relief, and the ability to reinvest profits can make a compelling case for incorporation. Real-world scenarios bear this out: it’s no coincidence that the number of buy-to-let companies has surged fourfold since mortgage interest relief was curtailed for individuals. However, incorporation is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The compliance responsibilities, upfront costs (SDLT/CGT), and the need for careful profit extraction planning mean that professional advice is essential.

Often forming a company for new acquisitions (while leaving existing properties as they are) can be the best option.

Ultimately, operating via a limited company is a powerful tool in the landlord’s tax planning arsenal, but like any tool, it must be used in the right circumstances. By understanding the tax benefits – and the pitfalls – outlined above, property investors can make an informed choice about whether incorporation is the best route for their portfolio. As always, consult us first before making any decisions we can tailor the advice to your specific situation and help navigate the process if you decide to proceed. With the proper planning, incorporating your property business can be a savvy move that pays dividends (quite literally) in the years ahead.

How Section 24 Affects Property Investors – What You Need to Know

Property investment remains one of the UK’s most popular routes to building long-term wealth—but recent tax changes have significantly impacted profitability. One of the most important changes affecting landlords is Section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015, commonly referred to as the “mortgage interest relief restriction.”

This restriction now affects Furnished Holiday Lets as well as Buy to Lets and HMO’s.

The changes to Holiday Lets and Serviced Accommodation are covered in this blog.

Holiday Lets – Good news for Capital Allowances – Steve J Bicknell Tel 01202 025252

More details on Section 24 are in this blog

Residential Letting – What is the Finance Cost Allowance and how are Unused Finance Costs used up? – Steve J Bicknell Tel 01202 025252

If you’re a portfolio landlord or considering property investment, understanding Section 24 is essential for financial planning and compliance.


❓ What is Section 24?

Introduced in 2017 and phased in over four years, Section 24 removes the ability for individual landlords to deduct all of their mortgage interest from rental income before calculating their income tax.

Instead of full relief, landlords now receive a basic rate tax credit (20%) on their finance costs.


💡 Why It Matters

If you own property in your personal name, this change can push you into a higher tax bracket—even if your real profits haven’t changed.

Example:

  • Rental income: £40,000
  • Mortgage interest: £25,000
  • Before Section 24: You paid tax on £15,000
  • Now: You pay tax on the full £40,000, then receive a 20% credit on the £25,000 mortgage interest

This could increase your tax bill substantially, especially for:

  • Higher rate taxpayers
  • Portfolio landlords with significant debt
  • Those receiving child benefit or working tax credits, where higher income triggers a clawback

🏛️ Company Ownership as an Alternative

Many investors are now considering buying property through a limited company, which is not affected by Section 24.

Key benefits:

  • Mortgage interest remains fully deductible
  • Corporation tax applies (currently 19–25%)
  • Potential long-term inheritance tax planning advantages

But it’s not right for everyone—incorporation involves costs, complexity, and potential capital gains tax (CGT) or stamp duty implications.


🔎 What Should You Do?

A professional review is essential. At Bicknell Business Advisers, we help landlords and property investors across the UK understand:

  • How Section 24 affects your tax position
  • Whether incorporation is right for you
  • How to structure your investments tax-efficiently
  • Planning strategies to reduce your tax exposure

📞 Book a Free Consultation Today

If you’re unsure how Section 24 is impacting you, or want to explore your options, get in touch today.


📞 Call: 01202 025252
🌐 Visit: www.bicknells.net

At Bicknell Business Advisers, we specialise in helping landlords and property businesses navigate complex tax legislation with clarity and confidence.

Factors to Consider When Determining Your Main Residence in the UK

brown paver brick wall


When you own more than one home, deciding which one will be your main residence can have significant tax implications. In the UK, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) provides guidelines on how to determine your main residence for capital gains tax (CGT) purposes. In this blog post, we will discuss the factors you should consider and the process of nominating your main residence. Additionally, we’ll explore various scenarios where you might have a second home for work or as a holiday retreat, and provide case studies and examples to illustrate the concepts.

  1. What is a Main Residence Election?
    The HMRC’s main residence election allows you to nominate the property you consider your main residence for CGT purposes. It is crucial because it determines which property will be exempt from CGT when you sell it. There is no requirement for it to be the property you spend most time on.
  2. Why Nominate a Main Residence?
    Nominating a main residence is particularly beneficial if you own multiple properties. By designating one as your main residence, you can save on potential CGT liabilities when selling the other properties. The Nomination Election once made can be varied CG64510
  3. HMRC CG64545 – Nine Factors to Identify Your Main Residence:
    For a nomination to be accepted, HMRC considers several factors, including:
  • Length of occupation
  • Where your family resides
  • Degree of furnishing and personal belongings
  • Residency status for voting, car registration, etc.
  • Bills and correspondence addresses
  • Where your business is located (if applicable)
  • Schooling and medical registrations
  • Bank accounts and club memberships
  • Intention to return to the property
  1. Having a Second Home for Work:
    In some cases, you might own a second property near your workplace to avoid daily commuting. It is essential to consider whether this property qualifies as your main residence and how it impacts your taxation.
  2. Having a Second Home as a Holiday Retreat:
    If you own a second property primarily for recreational purposes, such as a vacation home, it is crucial to understand the implications of CGT. Determining which property is your main residence becomes vital to minimize potential tax liabilities.
  3. Two-Year Election Deadline:
    To nominate a property as your main residence, you must make the election within two years of acquiring a second property. Every time there is a change in combination of available residences in re-starts the clock, this could be triggered by renting out and re-occupying, but seek advice first.
  4. Format for the Election:
    While there is no specific format, you should provide sufficient information to convince HMRC that your nominated property should be considered your main residence. It is advisable to keep documentary evidence supporting your claim.

Conclusion:
Determining your main residence when you own multiple properties is a crucial decision that affects your tax liabilities. By considering the factors outlined by HMRC and making a nomination within the designated timeframe, you can minimize your CGT liabilities.

steve@bicknells.net

How does Principle Private Residence Relief Work? (CGT)

signages for real property selling

As a UK accountant, one of the most common tax reliefs that clients ask about is Principle Private Residence Relief (PPR). This relief can be a significant tax saver for those selling their homes, but it is essential to understand the rules and regulations surrounding it.

What is PPR?

Firstly, PPR allows you to sell your main residence without incurring capital gains tax (CGT). However, if you have let out part of your home, it can affect your entitlement to PPR.

Tax when you sell your home: If you let out your home – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you rent out your home, then you will not be able to claim PPR for the period it is let. However, relief may still be available for the period you lived in the property and for the final 9 months of ownership.

a house for rent placard
Photo by Ivan Samkov on Pexels.com

How is PPR calculated if you let the property?

To calculate the PPR tax reduction for the let period, you will need to apportion the gain between the period it was your main residence and the period it was rented out. The amount of tax relief will be calculated based on the proportion of time the property was your main residence.

For example, if you lived in the property for five years, and then rented it out for two years, there would be seven years of ownership. The tax relief would apply for five years, but the remaining two years would be subject to CGT with an adjustment for the 9 month period.

How do you calculate the Gain?

Calculating the capital gain can be a complex process and may be affected by several factors such as the purchase and sale price, any home improvements made during ownership, and the length of ownership. It is recommended to seek specialist advice from a tax professional to ensure all factors are considered in the calculation.

person holding orange and white iphone case
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

How is the Gain taxed and reported?

The rates of CGT vary depending on the individual’s income tax rate. Currently, basic rate taxpayers will pay CGT at a rate of 18%, and higher rate taxpayers will pay at a rate of 28% on gains above the tax-free allowance of £12,300 (2022/23), £6,000 (2023/24), £3,000 (2024/25).

This blog explains how CGT is reported to HMRC How and when do you report capital gains tax on residential property disposals? – Steve J Bicknell Tel 01202 025252

How can you use Form 17?

Its worth seeking advice before the sale of any property as there could be ways to reduce the CGT for example couples can use Form 17 to change the ownership Declare beneficial interests in joint property and income – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and make best use of their tax allowances.

Working away and conculsion

If you work away from home, you can still claim PPR if the property remains your primary residence. However, if you buy another property to live in, this may affect your eligibility for PPR.

In conclusion, PPR can be a valuable tax relief for those selling their main residence. However, if you have let out your property, this may affect your entitlement to PPR. It is essential to understand the rules and regulations surrounding PPR and seek specialist advice when necessary.

Massive changes under discussion for the tax of Property Investors!!

woman in white shirt showing frustration

First we had the OTS Property Income Review dated 25th October 2022, since then the Policy Paper has been issued (1st November 2022) so it looks like we will see the adoption of at least some of the recommendations in Autumn Statement on 17th November 2022.

Key findings and priority recommendations

Furnished holiday lettings

  • Short-term rentals meeting the conditions fall into the furnished holiday lettings regime. This regime provides more favourable tax treatment than the main property income rules, with more tax relief for costs, including interest, and potentially a reduced Capital Gains Tax bill on disposal.
  • The OTS recommends that the government consider whether there is continuing benefit to the UK in having a separate tax regime for furnished holiday lettings.
  • If the furnished holiday lettings regime is abolished the OTS recommends that the government consider whether certain property letting activities subject to Income Tax should be treated as trading and whether it would be appropriate to introduce a statutory ‘brightline’ test to define when a property trading business is being carried on.
  • If the regime is retained, the introduction of a private use restriction may allow for relaxation of other requirements to enter the regime, making it simpler to understand and predict whether one is in scope.
  • Should the government conclude that the furnished holiday lettings regime be retained, the OTS recommends that the government then consider:
    • removing the current distortion of allowing the regime for properties in the European Economic Area, either by permitting worldwide properties to qualify, or by limiting the regime to UK properties
    • restricting the regime to properties used for commercial letting by removing the potential for personal occupation. This would permit a simpler approach to defining the regime

Repairs, replacements, and improvements

  • A long-standing area of complexity for taxation of property is whether costs are allowable straight away as repairs and replacements, or represent capital expenditure as improvements and should be disallowed for Income Tax.
  • The OTS recommends that HMRC should enhance the guidance in respect of the boundary between repairs and improvements to include clear examples of common situations, perhaps using flow-charts to lead towards case-by-case answers.
  • The OTS recommends that the government consider introducing a broader immediate Income Tax relief for all property costs – other than where work is part of the capital cost of the building, such as the initial fit-out of properties bought in a dilapidated state or structural work such as extensions to the property.

Jointly owned property

  • HMRC data indicates that almost half (1.5 million) of all taxpayers renting out property do so jointly, mainly with a spouse or civil partner, or with others.
  • Those not married nor in civil partnership will by default declare the split of income based on beneficial ownership, but can instead choose any other split they like without any form of election.
  • Conversely, spouses and civil partners, (providing they are living together) default to equal 50:50 shares for property other than furnished holiday lets, and respondents made very clear that the process to instead use a split based on beneficial ownership (using form 17) is complex and burdensome even for advisers, and taxpayers themselves are normally unaware of the need. This creates an unnecessary complexity and burden, and potentially accidental non-compliance.
  • The OTS recommends that the government should consider removing the anachronistic 50:50 rule for spouses and civil partners and aligning treatment to that of other joint owners and to the position for spouses under Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax. To prevent abuse, the default beneficial ownership position should not be capable of being displaced.
  • The government may also wish to consider removing the ability for joint owners to decide on a split other than beneficial ownership.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

  • From April 2024, landlords in scope of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax will need to keep digital records and file updates quarterly using compatible software. There was a very high level of concern common to all respondents about how the rules would apply to landlords.
  • The OTS recommends that HMRC should establish a system to deal with MTD for Income Tax for jointly owned properties, for example by making a jointly owned property the MTD filing entity.
  • Landlords may rely on multiple parties to provide information and potentially to support submitting reports.
  • HMRC needs to be able to authorise MTD for Income Tax filing agents alongside tax agents. This is needed because letting agents and bookkeepers will maintain digital records and may support quarterly submissions on behalf of some landlords. Specific professional standards and responsibilities will be needed for MTD for Income Tax filing agents.
  • The gross rental limit for being required to adopt MTD for Income Tax has been set at £10,000. The evidence suggests that a landlord with such low gross rentals will have a modest net profit, if any. The OTS acknowledges that, although there would be an Exchequer impact on raising the threshold, this could be outweighed by lower customer costs, higher levels of compliance and better taxpayer and agent engagement.
  • The OTS recommends that HMRC give consideration to increasing the minimum gross income threshold for MTD for Income Tax for landlords above £10,000, at least for the medium term.
  • As is clear from the points above there are unresolved complexities within MTD for Income Tax.
  • The OTS recommends that MTD for Income Tax should not apply to landlords until these major points have been dealt with by HMRC and by a range of software providers. Time will be needed to test new systems before adoption.

These changes are huge, if implemented there will be widespread confusion about how to report property income, this is already a complex area of tax, most of these changes will probably mean property owners end up paying more tax!

steve@bicknells.net

Can you get the company to buy your solar panels?

aerial view of two houses with roof tiles

At the moment the UK like other countries is in the depth of an energy crisis, mainly caused by the price of gas and lack of gas supplies.

Energy prices are higher than they have ever been, even with potential government intervention the costs will still be high. On top of that we have climate change, if we are to avoid climate disasters, we need to use renewable energy, such as Solar.

There has never been a better time to make your home more energy efficient.

Solar Panels and Batteries could mean you could become close to self-sufficient for energy, harnessing sunlight in the daytime, storing it in batteries and using it at night.

What if your company purchased a solar system for your home as benefit in kind, what would the tax be?

VAT

From 1 April 2022 until 31 March 2027 a zero rate applies to the installation of certain specified energy-saving materials in, or in the curtilage, of residential accommodation in Great Britain 

Energy-saving materials and heating equipment (VAT Notice 708/6) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

It makes no difference whether your company purchases the system or whether an individual purchases it.

Solar panels include all systems that are installed in, or on the site of, a building and that are:

  • solar collectors such as evacuated tube or flat plate systems, together with associated pipework and equipment, such as circulation systems, pump, storage cylinder, control panel and heat exchanger
  • photovoltaic (PV) panels with cabling, control panel and AC/DC inverter

Capital Allowances

Expenditure on solar panels is special rate expenditure on the basis they are integral features of buildings or structures.

Integral features expenditure can also qualify for AIA, they do not unfortunately qualify for the super deduction (must also be a company to qualify for the super deduction).

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/capital-allowances-manual/ca22335

To qualify for the allowance the conditions at S33A (1) and (2) etc must be met, please see the link below

EXPENDITURE ON INTEGRAL FEATURES (s. 33A) | Croner-i Tax and Accounting (croneri.co.uk)

Ownership of the property is not a requirement to qualify however the person that incurs the expenditure must own the P&M because of incurring it.

Benefit In Kind

As an employee, with the use of a company assets comes a chargeable BIK. The basic calculation is 20% of market value when first available less any unavailability and any contribution. 

Example – Solar Panel System Cost = £16,000 x 20% BIK = £3,200 BIK on which the tax is 20% = £640 per year or 40% = £1,280 per year in addition to the tax there is also Class 1A NI at 13.8% (£441.60), but the overall costs is still below the energy cap of £3,500 and even below the Governments suggested cap of £2,500.

In our particular case we have electric cars and work from home and use significantly more than the average levels.

The benefit in kind is reported in section L (assets placed at the disposal of the employee) of the P11D.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim21873

steve@bicknells.net

When does the Corporate Bodies 15% SDLT Rate Apply?

modern building against sky

Most people aren’t aware of the 15% which can apply to corporate property purchases over £500k and expect to pay the rates below (these are the rates with the extra 3%)

Property or lease premium or transfer valueSDLT rate
Up to £125,0003%
The next £125,000 (the portion from £125,001 to £250,000)5%
The next £675,000 (the portion from £250,001 to £925,000)8%
The next £575,000 (the portion from £925,001 to £1.5 million)13%
The remaining amount (the portion above £1.5 million)15%

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is charged at 15% on residential properties costing more than £500,000 bought by certain corporate bodies or ‘non-natural persons’. These include:

  • companies
  • partnerships including companies
  • collective investment schemes

These bodies may also need to pay Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings.

Relief from the 15% higher rate charge

The 15% rate does not apply to property bought by a company that is acting as a trustee of a settlement or bought by a company to be used for:

  • a property rental business
  • property developers and traders

FA03/S55/SCH4A: property rental businesses FA03/SCH4A/PARA5

Where the acquisition of a chargeable interest is exclusively for the purpose of exploitation as a source of rents or other receipts in the course of a qualifying property rental business, the 15% higher rate charge will not apply to the transaction. Instead, SDLT will be charged at the higher rates (the ones with the extra 3% in the table above) – see SDLTM09835 for more information on companies and the higher rates.

To qualify as a qualifying property rental business, the business must meet two conditions:-

  • it must be a property rental business as defined in Chapter 2 of Part 4, CTA 2009 (excluding the condition that the profits are chargeable to corporation tax – see PIM1020 onwards for more information), and
  • it must be carried on a commercial basis and with a view to a profit.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm09555

This relief may be withdrawn in certain circumstances:-

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm09660

So thankfully most companies won’t have to pay 15% but this has been a source of confusion for some clients.

steve@bicknells.net

HMRC Post-transaction valuation checks (CG34) and why you need one

Post transactions checks are used in relation to capital gains, they can be used by individuals or companies.

Its a free service offered by HMRC.

HMRC state

If we agree your valuations we’ll not question your use of those valuations in your return, unless there are any important facts affecting the valuations that you’ve not told us about.

But HMRC say it could take at least 3 months to check the valuation.

You can only request a Post Transaction Valuation Check:

  • after disposals relevant to Capital Gains Tax
  • before the date you must file your Self Assessment tax return

Here is a link to the form

CG34 Post-transaction valuation checks for capital gains (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Why are they needed?

There are situation where transactions are not ‘arms length’ in other words they are between connected parties.

For example if you have a development company and sell property to related company.

You can use the CG34 for

  • Shares
  • Goodwill
  • Land
  • Other Assets

The CG34 is not mandatory, you don’t have to get a post valuation check, but if you do, you will gain protection against HMRC questioning your valuation (assuming they agree with you CG34 submission).

You will need to submit supporting documents for example a independent valuation report to justify the value.

For Land valuations you will also need

  • Copy leases
  • Tenancy Agreements
  • Plans of undeveloped land

Where do you send the form?

Taxpayers dealt with by HMRC’s High Net Worth Units, or Public Department 1 should send the completed CG34 to those offices.

Those dealt with by Specialist Trust Offices should send their forms to:

Specialist PT Trusts and Estates Trusts
SO842
Ferrers House
Castle Meadow
Nottingham
NG2 1BB

Other individuals, partnerships and personal representatives should send the completed form direct to:

PAYE and Self Assessment
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AS

Companies should send to the office dealing with the company corporation tax affairs or if they do not have one, to:

Corporation Tax Services
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AX

steve@bicknells.net