If you’re a landlord who rents out residential property in the UK or abroad, you must disclose all income from letting properties to HMRC and pay the tax owing. To help landlords who have undisclosed income to get their tax affairs up to date and pay the tax due, HMRC offers the opportunity to take part in the Let Property Campaign.

This campaign provides landlords with the chance to disclose any outstanding liabilities and is open to all residential property landlords with undisclosed taxes. The campaign is not suitable for those letting out non-residential properties.

Taxpayers that come forward to take part will benefit from better terms and lower penalties. Landlords who do not take up the offer and are targeted by HMRC, can face penalties of up to 100% of the tax due, together with possible criminal prosecution.

Those who make an accurate voluntary disclosure are likely to face a maximum penalty of 0%, 10% or 20% depending on the circumstances of the disclosure. The penalties would be in addition to the tax and interest due. There are higher penalties for offshore liabilities. 

There are three main stages to taking part in the Let Property Campaign:

1. notifying HMRC that you wish to take part; 
2. preparing an actual disclosure; and 
3. making a formal offer together with payment. 

The campaign is open to all individual landlords renting out residential property. This includes landlords with multiple properties and specialist landlords with student or workforce rentals. Once HMRC has been notified of the wish to take part in the campaign, landlords usually have 90 days to calculate and pay any tax owed.

Contact us for more information.

Internet link: GOV.UK