Property Owners

Yesterday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt presented his second Autumn Statement, but with a very different tone to the gloomy announcements made this time last year. The Chancellor announced initiatives with a massive focus on pushing growth in the economy. The main question you’ll all no doubt have is… “how does it affect me?”, let’s take a look…

Trusts are often overlooked by many as being too complicated or something only for the rich, whilst the former may be partially true the latter definitely is not. With proper professional advice the benefits of trusts can be demystified, and both the tax and practical benefits realised.

We share the latest updates in the property sector including: Expected house price falls in 2024, Britain’s best locations for student landlords, Charities concerns over delays to Renters Reform Bill, Agreement between Wales and Cornwall, Scotland: More Council Tax for large homes

With demand for rental property being at an all time high we explore considerations if you are thinking of getting into property investment and how to ensure you are compliant from the offset of your journey as a property investor.

Property updates for October 2023 including - Record numbers of landlords making next purchase via Ltd companies, rocketing rent predictions, Possible rent controls increasing rent in Scotland and Proposed planning permission required for second homes in Wales.

Property updates for August 2023 including house price affordability, more on the renters reform bill, plans around holiday lets licencing in Wales and the potential housing emergency in Scotland.

Updates for August 2023 including, Additional information required for R&D, making the most of tax free childcare over the summer, Staff events including BBQ's, Abolishment of inheritance tax rumours and the effects of the base rate on HMRC interest rates.

We take a look at the ins and outs of VAT in the property & construction world with examples and tips to help you maximise your reclaims, steer clear or unexpected bills and make your property ventures a breeze.

The latest updates for the property sector including the concerns around the renters reform bill, HMRC cracking down on Airbnb hosts, Adequate housing in wales and the rent cap and eviction freeze in Scotland

Protection insurance is key to protecting your future. Are you aware of the options available to you and are you certain there are no loopholes of gaps in your cover? We explore the differences between Life Cover, Critical illness cover and income protection and the benefits of seeking guidance from an independent financial advisor can help you to ensure you have sufficient cover.

As a property investor, ensuring you have your property tax affairs structured in the most tax efficient way is vital. Ill-thought-out structuring and negligent planning can be very costly down the line. We recognise that everyone has unique situations and goals when it comes to their property affairs, so we’ve decided to take a 360 all-inclusive approach to tax planning to help you realise your goals.

If your business falls within the realm of property consultancy, property/land sourcing, property finding, estate agency, or similar activities, registration for Anti-money laundering supervision will be necessary, we explore the responsibilities and consequences for non compliance.

The latest updates for landlords and property investors including regulation for short-term lets, risks around lead generation services, calls for a renters charter and retiring landlords fuelling the rental property crisis.

Registering for VAT isn’t always a black & white option, here we go through scenarios where VAT registration may or may not be beneficial to your business.

Finding any sort of contamination on your property can easily burn a hole in your pocket, but this valuable tax relief may help you recover some of your money!

Property investors are often keen to understand the options for structuring their portfolio. Is a limited company the best option? We look at some of the advantages of using a limited company or a special purpose vehicle for your investment portfolio.

Our monthly property update for April 2023. Our articles this month include the MEES regulations which could mean costly upgrades!

House prices slump The most recent Nationwide House Price Index report shows that in January 2023, annual house price growth slowed to 1.1%, down from 2.8% in December 2022. House prices have fallen for five months in a row, with January seeing a monthly fall of 0.6%. This leaves prices at 3.2% lower than their...

Keep reading to find out what Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s “Back to Work” Budget means for you. Is 2023 a year of opportunity?

In this blog, we'll explore the benefits and drawbacks of both leasehold and commonhold flats so that you can make an informed decision for your property.

Making tax digital was scheduled to start in April 2024 for businesses, self-employed individuals and landlords with income over £10,000. That has now been delayed and the income threshold raised.

Autumn statement was delivered by the Chancellor on 17 November. Read our expert analysis aimed at owner managed business owners and high net worth individuals.

Property investors often fail to realise that they have a duty to register under CIS if they carry out certain activities. Failure to register could be costly as it is likely to result in significant penalties being levied for non-compliance.

What do you do if your subcontractor or professional disagrees with your treatment of their income under CIS? You have basically three actions you can take.

If you carry out any sort of building works on a property and engage labour you have to be wary of the rules under the construction industry scheme where tax has to be potentially stopped on the labour element of the service provided. Professionals are often consider exempt from CIS- but is this right? The answer unsurprisingly is not always!

For many people building their perfect home is just a dream. However over recent years we are seeing more and more cases of individuals looking to do just that. To ensure that individuals enjoy the same VAT advantages as professional builders check out the DIY Housebuilders Scheme.

Whether you’re a property investor looking to add to your portfolio or an individual acquiring your next home, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) can be a costly and burdensome chunk of cash to find. Your conveyancer will often deal with the calculation and submission of the SDLT Return and you as a purchaser will see this cost on your completion statement. SDLT is often begrudgingly accepted as a necessary cost to purchase and it is rarely questioned, but could you potentially be missing out on the valuable SDLT Multiple Dwellings Relief (MDR)?

During our more than 30 years trading as Chartered Accountants and Business and Tax advisers we have frequently been asked whether we could provide financial advice of one sort or another. Previously the response has been no, but we built up a strong network of third-party financial advisors who have helped our clients with all kinds of financial advice such as investments, pensions, protection and mortgages. In recent times, however, we have seen the number of independent financial advisors (financial advisors who go to the whole market rather than a few selected providers) decline and we now find that most financial advisors are tied.

Residential rental income is an exempt supply for VAT purposes, and so as a rule VAT cannot be charged on this income or reclaimed on related expenses. However, if you’re in a situation where you’re a landlord, but also run a VAT registered business making taxable supplies as a self-employed individual, then there may be a way you can reclaim VAT on your rental expenses too through your VAT Returns.

Higher rate tax payer? Looking to build wealth? Thought about creating your own property investment company? Pros and cons.

Property has been a popular investment for many years and some people view their property portfolio as their retirement pot, particularly where their conventional pension is unlikely to produce sufficient income for their lifestyle. Buy to lets, commercial property investment and furnished holiday lets are all popular, but recently they have been joined by a ‘new kid on the block’ the serviced accommodation and this sector is growing substantially.

In a recent blog we looked at using a company to hold property investments, however an alternative (and sometimes overlooked) vehicle for ownership of all family investments, property or otherwise, is through a trust structure.

With energy costs going through the roof it could make sense to make small eco-friendly improvements to your property which can reduce running costs and also add value to your property.

From 6 April 2020 disposals of residential property by UK taxpayers that give rise to a UK tax liability need to be reported to HMRC on a special capital gains tax (CGT) return. Usually this will be dealt with through an electronic submission but in some circumstances a paper form can be used.

Our client bank consists of many different types of property owner: those that buy property as a place to live, those that buy for investment purposes, those that through circumstances become accidental landlords, those that choose to make a living through buying, developing and selling property. What they all have in common is that at some stage they will contemplate selling their property and at that stage they will usually start to consider the tax implications.

Becoming a landlord, particularly if you are planning to manage the letting yourself, can be daunting. The legalities are complex, finding the right tenants is not easy, things do go wrong and it is easy to underestimate how much time you’ll need to spend on one property let alone a portfolio!

Owning your own property is part of the culture in the UK with over 65.1% of houses owned by the households in 2019. Surprisingly, whilst we are ahead of countries like Germany and France, most European countries have extremely high levels of ownership (Italy 72.3%, Greece 75.4%, Poland 84.2%). So why the disparity? In simple terms the reason is the property rental market. In 2020 the share of households occupied by private renters hit 18.7%, so around 4.44 million households were privately rented in England in 2020.

When your loved ones are seriously ill understandably the last thing you want to think about is anything to do with finances. However it is worthwhile knowing that in cases where a spouse or civil partner is terminally ill there could be an opportunity to save large amounts of tax by passing property in a tax efficient manner.

When your loved ones are seriously ill understandably the last thing you want to think about is anything to do with finances. However it is worthwhile knowing that in cases where a spouse or civil partner is terminally ill there could be an opportunity to save large amounts of tax by passing property in a tax efficient manner.

There are many potential pitfalls for the unwary property developer and key amongst them is tax. We have outlined 10 of the most common tax pitfalls or missed opportunities we have come across.

This is the second in a two part series of blogs on wealth creation. In the first blog I looked at how wealth is perceived in society and how you can measure your own wealth. In this blog I will share with you my top ten tips on how to create and maintain your own wealth.

This is the first of a two part series of blogs on the topic of wealth creation. In this first blog I will be looking at how wealth is perceived in society and how you can measure your own wealth.