HM Revenue & Customs are planning to force letting agents to hand over the names and addresses of all landlords on their books, past and present; and not just those for whom they collect rent (The Telegraph reported today). They will then use this information to launch a Tax Enquiry. The taxmen believes this information would help them identify buy-to-let investors who are avoiding paying tax on their rental income, or Capital Gains Tax when they sell a property.
Currently, HMRC only compel letting agents to disclose the details of landlords who use them to collect rent.  The changes could see all landlords who have paid a tenant finders fee to a letting agent being disclosed, even if they are no longer on the agent’s books.
The information would then be processed by HMRC’s Hidden Economy Team (who look for ghost landlords) or passed onto the taxpayer’s normal inspector to review alongside the Tax Return.  Since the Government’s raid on pension schemes there has been massive growth in the buy to let market as “amateur” investors look to secure a nest egg for the future.  HMRC believe that large numbers of these investors are not paying the right tax.

Lynam Tax partners have a vast amount of practical experience in managing tax investigations and Tax Disclosures and in many cases we have been able to substantially reduce the amounts of tax, interest and penalty being sought by HMRC.  If you’re subject to a worrying Tax Enquiry or Inspection or you haven’t declared all your rental income or gains and need to discuss this with a sympathetic, experienced professional, then:

For a free, private, no obligation consultation, call Paul Lynam today on 0845 643 9997