Right To Rent

[SarahBell]

From February 1, 2016, landlords who let property in England will have to carry out checks to make sure potential tenants have the right to rent property in the UK. This applies to any potential tenant, irrespective of nationality, and includes lodgers, house guests and family members who pay rent, as well as sublets. If you use a letting agent, they will take responsibility of this on your behalf if it's part of a written agreement. Anyone found to be letting a home to someone who is not allowed to stay can be fined up to £1,000 the first time and £3,000 subsequently.

From a rightmove survey.

Also:
From April 1st, 2016, anyone who buys additional residential properties is eligible to pay an extra 3% in stamp duty, with no minimum threshold. For example, this could be a holiday home or buy to let anywhere in the UK.

There will be no exemption for landlords with large portfolios as previously considered by the Government. Stamp duty will also be payable on the property even if a joint purchaser is a first time buyer. The good news is that stamp duty is a legitimate deductible expense against capital gains tax if you sell.

And:
Assume your buy-to-let earns £20,000 a year and the interest-only mortgage costs £13,000 a year. Currently tax is due on the difference or profit. So you pay tax on £7,000 only, meaning £2,800 for HMRC and £4,200 for you.

In 2020, tax is now due on your full rental income of £20,000, less a tax credit equivalent to basic rate tax on the interest. So you pay 40% tax on £20,000 (i.e. £8,000), less the 20% credit on your mortgage payment (20% of £13,000 = £2,600), meaning £5,400 for HMRC and £1,600 for you. Your tax bill has therefore almost doubled. Whilst all higher rate tax payers will be affected by this, basing taxation on rental income could push some landlords on lower tax rates into a higher band.

In light of the recent Government changes to stamp duty and tax relief on second homes and increased legislative obligations on landlords, which of the following applies to you?


Is this going to the be the first time some LL have seen some of this info?

Edited April 22, 2016 by SarahBell

[Wurzel Of Highbridge]

Assume your buy-to-let earns tenant pays £20,000 a year and the interest-only mortgage costs £13,000 a year.