Landlord Voice Magazine September 2015 - Sheffield | Page 4

Landlord News

Almost half of landlords would be affected
by wear and tear tax relief cut

R

esearch by the National
Landlords Association (NLA)
has found that 46 per cent of
landlords would be affected by
the removal of the wear and tear
allowance if the Government’s
Finance Bill was approved in
Parliament this autumn.
The NLA figures showed that
24 per cent of landlords let their
properties fully furnished, while 22
per cent let a mixture of furnished
and unfurnished and more than half,
at 54 per cent, let their properties
unfurnished.
Under the new proposal landlords
would no longer be able to claim
10 per cent tax relief against their
net rental income for the costs
of replacement and depreciation
of furnishings in fully-furnished
accommodation.
Under the current system

4 | LandlordVoice | September 2015

The new relief will
apply to landlords
of unfurnished,
part furnished
and furnished
properties
landlords can claim the 10 per cent
relief regardless of whether any
furniture has been replaced during
the tax year but the Finance Bill
would mean landlords would only be
allowed to deduct the actual cost of
replacing a specific item of furniture.
The new relief will apply to
landlords of unfurnished, part
furnished and furnished properties

but not to furnished holiday lettings
businesses and would, according to
the Government, make furniture
allowances more consistent and
fairer across the sector.
Chris Norris, head of policy at the
National Landlords Association, said
the wear and tear allowance’s removal
would mean a reduction in tax relief
for landlords who let properties on a
furnished basis.
But, he added: “It will come as a
welcome revision for those letting
a mixed portfolio, unfurnished,
or part-furnished property as the
replacement system will allow
them to deduct legitimate revenue
expenses in the future.”
The new regulations will be under
consultation until 9th October
2015 and, if approved, would apply
from 6th April 2016 for income tax
purposes.

Taxman may call on Airbnb landlords

P

roperty experts fear Airbnb
landlords may soon find
themselves facing unexpected
tax bills if HM Revenue and
Customs follow the examples
of their counterparts in the US
and Irish Republic.
The concern comes after
tax officials in Dublin recently
ordered the worldwide casual
lettings website to disclose its
customer details in order to
check they were paying income
tax on the rents they received
from paying guests.

Airbnb allows landlords
to rent out their prop