UK Landlord Forum / Life

I see that HMRC allow the costs of

•   other direct costs of letting the property, like phone calls, stationery and advertising

to be offset against income tax

I have no clue how much I have spent on this, is there an acceptable amount which they will let landlords claim for without asking for evidence ?

Is this part of the general costs of running an office to administer the rental from home ?

Thanks

You don't know how much you spent on advertising?

For running an 'office' from home in support of the 'business' there is an accepted £2 per week... also heard £4 peer week mentioned, but that night come under scrutiny.

Quote from: Hippogriff on May 17, 2015, 04:21:43 PM
You don't know how much you spent on advertising?

Aah yeah good point. I do know. And it is less than 1p.

Quote from: Hippogriff on May 17, 2015, 04:21:43 PM
For running an 'office' from home in support of the 'business' there is an accepted £2 per week... also heard £4 peer week mentioned, but that night come under scrutiny.

Thanks that helps.  Any idea of the source of this £2 rumour?

An HMRC BIM document. But it'll be in the book too.

Quote from: Hippogriff on May 17, 2015, 07:34:58 PM
An HMRC BIM document. But it'll be in the book too.

Looks like I cant claim, as I dont spend > 25 hours per month administrating the one house I let.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/BIM75010.htm

£2 at 20% X 52 = £20.80.  Dry your eyes mate.

You need to work a lot less effectively, maybe. Penalised for being good, ey?

Quote from: Hippogriff on May 17, 2015, 09:15:20 PM
You need to work a lot less effectively, maybe. Penalised for being good, ey?

I'm fortunate in that I seem to have a really good tenant, and just one property. It all seems to look after itself at the moment.
I guess I'd rather that than be spending 26 hours a week so that I could claw back £20.

Martha.

I am a qualified accountant, but not a newly qualified one, and one who certainly is NOT insured to give you advice you rely on.

What you need to understand is there is Tax law, set by Parliament, and there is the rules the Inland Revenue publish.

The rules are there to make it easy for them to collect as much tax as possible.

It is not the law though.

When you submit your tax return, 95% of the time a human will not look at it. It will go through a computer program, and a letter will be sent.

It will only be looked at if it is odd. The £2 a week is probably 40% of the level that would make it "odd" Therefore you could try £5 a week, if you think you could get away with it, I mean justify it.....

Just make sure that you are reasonable in the first place and then consistent. If you say £100 this year, next year say £110, year after £115, etc etc.

You need to try as much as realistically possible to ensure your returns are always boring with nothing noteworthy in them, that is the route to happiness. BUT you could be asked at some point 8 years from now how you came to the number, so keep records safe.

Regards

Quote from: boboff on May 19, 2015, 09:19:58 AM
Martha.

I am a qualified accountant, but not a newly qualified one, and one who certainly is NOT insured to give you advice you rely on.

What you need to understand is there is Tax law, set by Parliament, and there is the rules the Inland Revenue publish.

The rules are there to make it easy for them to collect as much tax as possible.

It is not the law though.

When you submit your tax return, 95% of the time a human will not look at it. It will go through a computer program, and a letter will be sent.

It will only be looked at if it is odd. The £2 a week is probably 40% of the level that would make it "odd" Therefore you could try £5 a week, if you think you could get away with it, I mean justify it.....

Just make sure that you are reasonable in the first place and then consistent. If you say £100 this year, next year say £110, year after £115, etc etc.

You need to try as much as realistically possible to ensure your returns are always boring with nothing noteworthy in them, that is the route to happiness. BUT you could be asked at some point 8 years from now how you came to the number, so keep records safe.

Regards

Boboff - thanks.

Quote from: Martha on May 17, 2015, 08:33:34 PMLooks like I cant claim, as I dont spend > 25 hours per month administrating the one house I let.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/BIM75010.htm

Take a look at this BIM instead... http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/bim47825.htm

Quote from: Hippogriff on May 19, 2015, 12:50:12 PM

Quote from: Martha on May 17, 2015, 08:33:34 PMLooks like I cant claim, as I dont spend > 25 hours per month administrating the one house I let.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/BIM75010.htm

Take a look at this BIM instead... http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/bim47825.htm

Thanks for this HG.