Tax tips for property landlords

Helpful tax tips for a property investor

You may want to save on taxes if you're an investor. After all, a lot of deductions are made on taxes. Given below are some of the prominent tips you may want to follow for saving on taxes:

1. Maintain records

If you are a property landlord, the first thing you should do is maintain a record of all properties. Even when you own a single property, you must maintain proper details. Tracking errors via bookkeeping can be difficult. It will prevent you from understanding your numbers.

As the property landlord, you must maintain a book wherein you keep all the important records about the property. You must make a note of all the allowable expenses. The implementation of Making Tax Digital rules have come into being. Therefore, if your income from the property exceeds £10,000 per year in the coming year, you will be eligible for the MTD rules.

Since everything will be moving digital, you must take advantage of the newer opportunities. Keeping a digital record of your business will eventually help you maintain your finances properly. As a result, you may get more clarity on how your investments are performing. Keeping a record of everything will eventually help you manage the taxes.

2. Use all the available tax bands

If there are more tax bands available, you must be using them. One of the best ways to reduce the tax bill as the landlord is to transfer some of the assets to your spouse. If you are paying the Capital Gains Tax, you may want to transfer the assets. After all, you will not need to pay for the transferred assets for the spouse. Opting for this strategy can help you make the maximum use of all the tax bands. Furthermore, you will be lowering the bands as well.

Furthermore, one of the most prominent things is that you can pay less tax for the rental income. If the tenants' tax bracket is smaller than yours, you will need to pay less tax. However, if there is a property that you don't have a mortgage on and you're not getting financial benefits from it, then you will not have to pay any stamp duty tax on it.

3. Stay up to date with the tax rules

One of the most efficient ways to lower your taxes is to stay updated with the latest rules. Over the years, the landlords have seen various changes, especially in terms of taxes. Stamp tax, Capital Gains Tax and furniture deductions have undergone massive changes. These changes were mostly dependent on the deductible interest payments.

As the property landlord, you will not be able to deduct any finance cost from the residential property income. On the other hand, they will be eligible to receive a basic rate reduction, especially in terms of income tax liability. However, the restriction will not be eligible for any commercial property. If a limited company owns a property, these tax rules will not apply to them.

The property landlords must hire accountants who will analyse all your records. They will help you understand the allowable expenses and what you can claim. Once you know the restrictions, you can easily implement those and browse through the tax rules. Since the tax rules are changing, it can be slightly complex.

4. Nominate your main residence

According to the Basic Tax Gain rules, you will be eligible for tax relief if the property that you're selling was once or is your main residence. While it is effective, many landlords don't realise that they can change their main residence by nominating the new one. Doing so will be important in reducing the overall capital gains tax. As a result, for every property you buy, you can lower the prices significantly.

The capital gain hills usually belong to the thousands. If you're opting for the right methods, you will eventually be able to save a lot of money. Various rules can offer you leverage in terms of the amount. Therefore, it is advisable to be familiar with the rules to prevent unwanted expenses. However, you must know that is something not everyone will be eligible for. Implementing these steps correctly will help you save a lot of money.

5. Submit the tax return on time

Every property landlord must make it a point to submit the tax returns on time. Many people miss out on filing their tax returns on time. However, many of them wait until the deadline to file the tax. If you don't file the tax return on time or pay the liability, you will be prone to taxes. You must refrain from waiting till the last hour to make the tax returns.

Furthermore, the one-off fee will also have some interest charges. If you withhold the tax returns, the amount will keep compounding, thereby proving to be a problem in the long run. If you find it difficult to file the tax returns on time, you might as well use the software. Often manual filing can lead to errors which can prove to be troublesome.

Apart from that, you can also hire a professional to help you with tax filing. Working on your tax liability is extremely important. If the HMRC sends you emails, you must keep a record. When you follow everything efficiently, you won't have to wait until the end to pay a lump sum.

Conclusion

As a property landlord, you should take care of basic stuff regarding your property, especially for filing the taxes. If you find it difficult to keep a note of your taxes, you must also hire an accountant who will help you file the taxes and returns on time, helping in the long run.