Letting your property can be a great way to maximise your investment but it's vital to understand the tax implications. The last thing you need is to make decisions without all the facts. Whatever your questions about landlord accounting, whether about income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, VAT returns or stamp duty, the answers are here.
If you are no longer living in your home, you could be considering letting it out rather than selling it. Get expert landlord accounting services, so you can sleep easy knowing you are paying the right tax at the right time.
Many people become accidental landlords. Your main residence can be converted into a rental property if you are unable to sell or decide you would like to earn a rental income from your asset. When you rent your own house to a tenant, you may need an accountant to help you calculate the income tax payable on the rental income less allowable expenses.
Your accountant can advise and help prepare your self-assessment tax return to include all your income, whether earned through employment, self-employment or as a residential landlord.
A portfolio landlord is a property owner who invests in buy-to-let properties, usually through a business, to minimise income tax. If you buy a property through a limited company business, the company will pay corporation tax on profits rather than you paying income tax or capital gains tax as an individual landlord.
This involves more complicated accounting, and you will likely need an accountant to help with tax planning. Opportunities to minimise your rental property tax have been reduced, so make sure you claim everything you are entitled to. Many limited company landlords will need to prepare a self-assessment tax return, a corporation tax return and annual accounts each year.
You may be a property investor without being a landlord. If you are buying property to develop it with the intention of re-selling after refurbishment, you will not receive rental income as a landlord, but you may incur capital gains tax. Your purchase may also be subject to stamp duty at the additional rate if you already own another property.
We'll review your situation and give you tax advice to reduce the capital gains by ensuring you use all eligible allowances and reliefs. CGT tax returns must be submitted within 60 days of selling, and you'll also need to pay tax within that timeframe if you have exceeded the CGT threshold of £3,000.
If you are letting property as a holiday home, there are other rules to follow. The tax position on furnished holiday lets (FHL) will change from April 2025, bringing rules more in line with residential letting. If you have been enjoying the FHL tax perks, you may benefit from a chat with us to get advice on the impact of the new rules for the next tax year.
Professional tax advice could save you a substantial amount in tax, for example, if you can take advantage of the annual investment allowance or Business Asset Disposal Relief. Call us today on 020 8064 0445 for a no-obligation discussion about your situation.
At Unicorn Accountants, we love helping landlords manage their tax liability. We'll discuss the most tax-efficient way to manage your portfolio, providing you with a tailored service, whether you have one property or many.
All limited companies, whether they are set up to hold property or run another type of business, must produce annual accounts each year, and these must be submitted to Companies House by your accountant using specialised software, so it's usually not possible to do this yourself.
You might be happy to deal with your invoices and receipts, but the more rental properties you own, the more time-consuming it is to keep your property accounts up to date. Let us handle your landlord rental income and expenses data entry, including your VAT returns, credit control and meeting tax deadlines.
Our cloud accounting service simplifies your life. Automatically send recurring invoices, properly account for VAT and even capture receipts for expenses quickly using your smartphone to reduce the time you spend on finance admin.
Unicorn Accountants are Xero certified advisors, helping you access timely, accurate data for making decisions. Making tax digital (MTD) applies to landlords from April 2026, so get in touch with us today by emailing dream@unicornaccountants.co.uk to ensure you are compliant with the latest rules. The government is looking for landlord beta testers for the Making Tax Digital project, so let us know if you'd like to register voluntarily.
Landlord tax accounting can overwhelm even the most experienced landlord. Hand off all your properties' tax returns to us so you can concentrate on looking after your properties and providing a great service to your tenants.
All rental income is added to any other income from employment or self-employment if you manage your rental properties as a sole trader. You'll pay income tax at your marginal rate, but we'll make sure we include all eligible tax deductibles on your tax returns.
Capital Gains Tax can be substantial, and with the annual allowance now being only £3,000 per year, you'll need to ensure you are claiming all allowable expenses on your tax return to reduce your bill.
Unicorn Accountants are experts in landlord tax advice, helping individuals, limited companies and property investors deal with their tax liabilities efficiently. We'll keep up with all the latest changes in tax legislation and make sure you meet all your tax reporting deadlines so you avoid unnecessary stress and unwanted fines.
Contact us via our online form for help with all landlord property tax matters so your portfolio is optimised for tax purposes. Whether you need help calculating your gains or losses, understanding all the eligible deductions or simply want to have us check over your tax return, we're ready to make your life easier with our expert landlord accounting service.
