UK Landlord Forum / Life

A report from MPs said buy-to-let landlords were among a "high risk" group of people who evade their fair share of tax in the black economy and should face far tougher penalties.

The MPs recommended a campaign to crack down on them, starting with an advertising campaign initially offering an amnesty to those who pay off their undeclared tax debts immediately.

Those which continued to evade their fair share of tax would face 100pc penalties of the amount owed. Serious offenders would end up in court and a criminal record.

full story here

According to my accountant the HMRC have people trawling through the Land Registry looking at peoples registered houses and then comparing the owners to those submitted on the tax returns. Apparently they are quite effective at it too!
B*****ds. MAinly looking for the accidental landlords but luckily I pay my taxes!

Jools

Ot-oh...

They also use Letting Agents as another arm of thier tax collecting activity.  All Letting Agents are being ordered by the IR to disclose full annual accounts of all landlords they have found tenants for or manage properties for.  They used to ask for an annual return of all earnings by overseas landlords but now they ask for all UK landlords as well.  This year they sent out an extra order 6 months after receiving the annual one. 

It stinks.   

It seems like the government is taking a tougher stance on buy-to-let landlords who evade taxes. While it's fair that everyone should pay their share, I wonder how this crackdown will impact small landlords who may not even realize they are non-compliant. Hopefully, the proposed amnesty period gives people a chance to sort things out before facing harsh penalties.

This is just nonsense. HMRC is still running the last campaign that "offer(s) an amnesty to those who pay off their undeclared tax debts immediately."

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/let-property-campaign-your-guide-to-making-a-disclosure/let-property-campaign-your-guide-to-making-a-disclosure

HMRC use council tax records, land registry analysis and letting agents' data to identify landlords already and they've told the deposit companies to feed them information as well. They're bloody useless at the moment, but given some resources to start chasing seriously and they might actually collect some tax owed. Until then MPs can "recommended" away.

This tax crackdown will put more pressure on buy-to-let investors, especially smaller landlords. Increased costs and tighter regulations could reduce profitability and make the market less attractive over time.

Quote from: Miemenu on March 11, 2025, 07:23:40 AMThis tax crackdown will put more pressure on buy-to-let investors, especially smaller landlords. Increased costs and tighter regulations could reduce profitability and make the market less attractive over time.So landlords shouldn't pay the tax that the law says that they have to?