Buy-to-let properties have attracted thousands of investors. But before you take the plunge, it's important to consider the tax implications.
Taxes on buy-to-let properties: Britain's landlords are required to pay tax on rent and capital gains tax, but there are ways to minimise this. Rental Income Rent income will be treated as income and taxed in line with your basic or higher-rate tax bands. You can, however, be able to offset mortgage interest payments, letting agency costs and maintenance expenses against the taxable rental income. This can make it more tax-efficient to have a mortgage on your investment property rather than your main home where you can no longer get tax relief on your mortgage. Rental incomes should be declared on an annual self-assessment tax return, it may be worth seeking an accountant to ensure all tax breaks are taken advantage of. Tax on the property price rise Capital Gains Tax (CGT) comes in when you sell a buy-to-let property at a profit. From April 2008, capital gains tax was changed to a flat rate of 18%. Any gains above the annaul £10,100 (2009/20) personal threshold will attract CGT. Before CGT as charged at up to 40% and taper relief cut this, if a property had been owned for more than three years. This no longer applies. Capital gains tax applies to any property which is not your main home, known as the Principal Private Residence. If you only have one property and it is considered your PPR, then you do not have to pay CGT, however, the taxman may want evidence that you were actually living there. CGT liabilities should be declared annually on your tax return and anyone making a substantial sum from selling a property should seek out a good accountant, who can take advantage of all available breaks. Stamp duties Stamp duty tax is payable on buy-to-let properties by the purchaser, as all other residential properties. The current rates are 1% above £125,000, 3% above £250,000 and 4% above £500,000. A stamp duty holiday currently applies until the end of the year on all properties under £175,000. Decreasing tax Most people think that one way to dodge tax - and are often advised by accountants - is to put a second home in the name of their partner. When they come to sell, they claim their partner has been living in the property thereby making it exempt from CGT. This choice is easier for people who have done let-to-buy: they keep the mortgage on the first home which they lived in - and then take a second traditional mortgage with another lender on an additional home where they live. In this way you can bypass the need for a proper buy-to-let mortgage on the first property, which would alert the taxman. However, it breaches the lender's rules, which means they could call in the loan without notice. More importantly, evading CGT in this way would be treated as illegal and result in fines or even imprisonment. However, there are more complicated ways of mitigating tax on buy-to-let, including setting up a company to own the properties. For the average amateur investor this is not worthwhile as it is expensive, complicated and can limit access to mortgage finance. Cutting down on capital gains tax Typically, buy-to-let owners and those with second homes can slash tax bills if they have ever lived there as their principal private residence and through lettings relief And everyone's main home - or principal private residence as the taxman catchily names it - is exempt from capital gains tax when sold, but any other properties they own attract CGT at their highest rate when sold. For example - an unmarried couple may each own a home that qualifies as their principal residence but a married couple may only nominate one property and must elect jointly. And it is possible to cut capital gains bills by living in the second property for a period of time. Special rules apply to properties that have been a main residence. The period when it was the main residence is exempt, plus the last 36 months of ownership. As for those who have previously rented out their main residences there is the added benefit of being able to claim up to £40,000 letting relief. This is available to anyone with a share in the property - giving a couple, even if married, up to £80,000 between them. Finally, the amount of private letting relief that can be claimed cannot be greater than £40,000 and must be the lower of that sum, the amount of principal private residence relief being claimed, or the capital gains made during the letting period. The best advice however that the wisest of investors make sure to have is to use a clever tax accountant to handle your affairs. The tax saved will be much greater than the fees they will ever charge. Tax Affinity Accountants based in Kingston Upon Thames, are experts in tax and accounting. Visit www.taxaffinity.com for more interesting articles. Please feel free to comment and share this article with your friends. We often get asked when is the best and worst time to call HMRC? And because at Tax Affinity Accountants, we already know this, we are happy to advise them.
The telephone help lines at HMRC have historically always had long waiting times. With thousands of callers who wait a long time simply giving up even though they have needed important help to get things right. 'The early bird catches the worm' Its simple the best time to call HMRC is when everyone else is not calling. And this mean's doing it early in the morning between 8am and 10am Monday to Friday. The worst time is towards the end of the day between 4pm and 8pm, when everyone is calling them. Calling HMRC at the wrong time can cause a lot of stress and frustation. Plus imagine you ask one of your employees to do this at the wrong time and he/she does nothing for 45 minutes but hold the telephone. This a huge waste of wages and efficiency. Worse still HMRC also use an automated recorded message to try to turn away callers at peak times by telling them to check HMRC's online system and resources or a “Sorry there is no one available to take your call, please try later”. message. So plan ahead and try to call them early in the morning and if you must ask an important question just hold on in there until someone picks up and hope they give you the advice without referring you to another department! By Anni Khan at Tax Affinity Accountants Tax Affinity Accountants are experts in Tax and Accountancy. Based in Worcester Park and Kingston upon Thames they are considered in the Industry to be expert accountants and advisors for small businesses. Helping and supporting business throughout the UK, they regularly help clients grow their business providing tailored advice. For more information visit www.taxaffinity.com. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. The Treasury expects to raise over £4 billion from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) from the last tax year - 15% more than the previous year. In our view the main reason for this rise is the number of investors paying CGT at a higher rate has increased.
CGT is payable at 18% if you're a non-taxpayer or basic rate taxpayer, or 28% if you're a higher or additional rate taxpayer. Remember, CGT is payable when you realise profits in excess of the annual allowance (£10,600 in the current tax year). One of the simplest way to protect your investments from any future CGT liabilities is to shelter them with an ISA. Once held with an ISA there is no further tax to pay on any investment income, and no tax to pay on gains. Each tax year you have an ISA allowance. If the allowance is used every year it offers the opportunity to build a significant portfolio of tax sheltered assets in the long run. This year the ISA allowance has risen to £11,280, that means a couple could shelter as much as £22,560 in ISAs. Tax benefits of Stocks & Shares ISAs For those who already hold investments showing substantial gains there are some simple steps you can take to reduce, or even eliminate completely, any CGT liability. Please note tax rules are subject to change, and the benefits of tax shelters will depend on your circumstances. 1. Offset losses against your gains If you sell an investment and make a loss, the loss can be offset against any gains you have made in the same tax year. If your losses exceed your gains, you can register the losses on your tax return to offset against future gains. 2. Sell when you pay tax at a lower rate The rate of capital gains tax is based on the rate of income tax you pay so your CGT bill will be lower if you realise gains when your income is lower. If you know your taxable income will fall in the future, perhaps due to retirement, you could consider delaying selling until then. However you should always look at your investment objectives and merits first and look at the tax benefits as an added bonus. 3. Transfer to your spouse and pay less tax You can normally transfer investments between spouses without an immediate tax charge. This means a married couple (or those in a registered civil partnership) can use both their annual allowances to make gains of £21,200 this tax year without paying CGT. If your spouse pays tax at a lower rate than you, you could transfer the investments into their name before selling to benefit from CGT at the lower rate. 4. Reduce your taxable income Because the rate of capital gains tax you pay is linked again to the rate of income tax you pay, reducing your taxable income could reduce the amount of capital gains tax you pay. The easiest way to do this is through tax shelters such as ISAs - income from an ISA is free from further tax. In some cases you might be able to reduce your taxable income for a particular year - perhaps by transferring income-bearing assets such as cash deposits, to your spouse. 5. Use your pension to reduce capital gains tax A pension contribution can also be used to reduce capital gains tax liability for many investors by taking advantage of the tax relief on the contribution. Effectively your basic rate tax band is increased by the amount of the pension contribution, meaning larger gains might be realised before the higher rate of capital gains tax is payable. For example, a pension contribution of £3,600 will extend your basic rate tax band from £42,475 to £46,075. Providing your taxable income and gains are less than £46,075 in this tax year, you will pay capital gains tax at 18% and none at 28%. Find out more about Capital Gains Tax and how Tax Affinity Accountants can help you visit our website and arrange an a free initial consultation. Please remember all stock market investments can fall as well as rise in value so you could get back less than you invest . Tax Affinity Accountants based in Kingston upon Thames are experts in advising the public in all matters to do with tax and accounting. In the current economic climate everyone should be looking for ways to save tax. And to help, we at Tax Affinity Accountants have compiled a list to do just that.
The tax codes, allowances and deadlines 1. Tax code Check your tax code each year (the numbers and letters on your payslip). If you're on the wrong code, you may be paying too much tax. 2. Capital gains tax allowance Remember that capital gains under £10,600 are tax-free. Married couples and civil partners who own assets jointly can claim a double allowance of £21,200. CGT is charged at 18% if you are a standard rate taxpayer, and 28% if you pay tax at a higher rate. 3. Tax return deadlines Don’t miss the 31 October deadline if you want to make a paper tax return. You can do your tax online up to 31 January, but paper tax returns need to be in three months earlier than online tax returns to avoid a £100 fine. 4. Annual investment allowance If you are a landlord or run your own business, take advantage of the annual investment allowance (AIA) to claim for capital expenditure on items such as tools and computers. You can claim relief on up to £25,000 a year. How to pay less tax if you're self-employed 5. Tax-deductible expenses If you’re self-employed, don’t forget to claim all your tax-deductible expenses, including cash expenditure where eligible. 6. Self-employed car costs If you're self employed, you can claim the running costs of a car, but not the cost of buying one. If you use the same car privately, you can claim a proportion of the total costs. 7. Cash-flow boost for self-employed If you are setting up as self employed, you may be able to improve your cashflow by choosing an accounting year that ends early in the tax year. This maximises the delay between earning your profits and your final tax demand. 8. Annual losses If you are self employed, you can carry forward losses from one year and offset them against profits from the next. See our page on when the self-employed pay tax for more. 9. Payments on account If you are self-employed and expect to earn less in 2012-13 than you did the year before, apply to reduce any payments on account that HMRC ask you to make. Saving tax on property income 10. Rent a room Rent a room relief is an optional scheme that lets you receive up to £4,250 in rent each year from a lodger, tax-free. This only applies if you rent out furnished accommodation in your own home. 11. Landlord's energy-saving allowance If you rent out property you can claim special tax allowance of up to £1,500 for insulation, draught proofing and installing a hot water system. 12. Landlord's expenses If you rent out property, you can deduct a range of costs before declaring your taxable income. These include the wages of gardeners and cleaners, and letting agency fees. 13. Tax relief on your mortgage You can claim tax relief on the interest on a mortgage you take out to buy a rental property – even if it the rental property is abroad. 14. Reduce capital gains tax (CGT) on a rental property Landlords are normally liable for CGT when they sell a rental property. If it has been your main home at some time in the past, you can claim tax relief for the last three years of ownership. Pay less tax on savings and investments 15. Isa allowance Use your tax-free Isa allowance. This year, the overall limit is £10,680, of which £5,340 can be put into in a cash Isa. 16. No CGT on shares held in an Isa There is no capital gains tax to pay when you sell shares or units held in an Isa. For more details see Tax on savings and investments. 17. Junior Isas Use Junior Isas or Children’s Bonus Bonds to avoid being taxed on gifts you make to your own children. 18. Transfer assets Transfer savings and investments to your husband, wife or civil partner if they pay a lower rate of tax than you do. See our guide to tax and your partner for more information. 19. Children's savings Stop children being taxed at source on their savings by completing a simple form (R85) on their behalf. Tax savings for older people 20. Age-related allowance If you are aged 65-plus you may be eligible for an increased personal allowance. This means you pay a lower income tax rate. See Tax in retirement. 21. National Insurance Make sure you stop making National Insurance contributions if you carry on working beyond state retirement age (currently 62 for women and 65 for men). 22. Gift Aid If you are over 65, making donations to charity through Gift Aid can reduce your taxable income to below the threshold at which you start to lose out on age-related allowances. 23. Tax relief on gifts If you are in a higher tax bracket, you can claim back the difference between the basic and higher rate of income tax on any Gift Aid donations. 24. Inheritance tax Lifetime gifts are not normally counted as part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes if you live for a further seven years after making them. Known as potentially exempt transfers (PETs) they can reduce your residual estate significantly. See our blog on inheritance tax. Tax savings through employee benefits 25. Season ticket loan If you are a commuter, check to see if your employer will give you a tax-free loan to buy your season ticket. 26. Pool cars Use a pool car for occasional business travel, if your employer provides these. 27. Childcare schemes and tax credits If you are an employee and pay for childcare, ask your employer if they have a childcare scheme. Salary sacrifice childcare schemes are easy to establish and can result in substantial savings for both employees and employers. For more details see working for an employer. Child tax credits can also save you money. 28. Company car? If you are entitled to a company car, consider whether it would be more tax-efficient to take a cash equivalent in pay instead. 29. Going green If you are changing your company car, consider a low-emissions model . These are now taxed at a lower percentage of their list price, than cars with a high CO2 rating. 30. Pay in to a pension scheme Contributions to your employer's pension scheme (including any additional voluntary contributions you make) can be made from your gross pay, before any tax is charged. For the most up to date and accurate advice speak to tax accountant, as these allowances and benefits do change every year. Tax Affinity Accountants are expert Qualified Tax Accountants in Kingston upon Thames. To read more visit www.taxaffinity.com/blog and please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. |
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