Let property disclosure campaign

The Let Property Campaign provides landlords who have undeclared income from residential property lettings in the UK or abroad with an opportunity to regularise their affairs by disclosing any outstanding liabilities whether due to misunderstanding the tax rules or because of deliberate tax evasion.

The campaign was launched in September 2013 and does not currently have an end date. Landlords who do not avail of the opportunity and are targeted by HMRC, can face penalties of up to 100% of the tax due together with possible criminal prosecution. HMRC’s guidance on the scope of the campaign has been updated. The campaign is an opportunity open to all residential property landlords with undisclosed taxes. The campaign is not suitable for those letting out non-residential properties.

Taxpayers that come forward will benefit from better terms and lower penalties for making a disclosure. Landlords that make an accurate voluntary disclosure are likely to face a maximum penalty of 0%, 10% or 20% depending on the circumstance in addition to the tax and interest due. There are higher penalties for offshore liabilities.

There are three main stages to taking part in the campaign, notifying HMRC that you wish to take part, preparing an actual disclosure and making a formal offer together with payment. The campaign is open to all individual landlords renting out residential property. This includes landlords with multiple properties and single rentals as well as specialist landlords with student or workforce rentals. HMRC’s guidance has recently been updated to reflect the start of the new tax year.

The Let Property Campaign provides landlords who have undeclared income from residential property lettings in the UK or abroad with an opportunity to regularise their affairs by disclosing any outstanding liabilities, whether due to misunderstanding the tax rules or because of deliberate tax evasion.

The campaign was launched in September 2013 and does not currently have an end date. Landlords, who do not avail of the opportunity and are targeted by HMRC, can face penalties of up to 100% of the tax due together with possible criminal prosecution. HMRC’s guidance on the scope of the campaign has been updated. The campaign is an opportunity open to all residential property landlords with undisclosed taxes. The campaign is not suitable for those letting out non-residential properties.

Taxpayers that come forward will benefit from better terms and lower penalties for making a disclosure. Landlords that make an accurate voluntary disclosure are likely to face a maximum penalty of 0%, 10% or 20% depending on the circumstance on top of the tax and interest due. There are higher penalties for offshore liabilities.

There are three main stages to taking part in the campaign, notifying HMRC that you wish to take part, preparing an actual disclosure and making a formal offer together with payment. The campaign is open to all individual landlords renting out residential property. That includes landlords with multiple properties and single rentals as well as specialist landlords with student or workforce rentals. HMRC’s guidance has recently been updated to reflect the start of the new tax year and to include an updated link to the penalties and interest calculator.

Landlords that receive letting income should notify HMRC by 5 October after the end of the tax year for which you start to receive that income. So, for the 2017-18 tax year that has just ended, HMRC needs to be notified by 5 October 2018 of any letting income.

The Let property campaign, provides landlords who have undeclared income from residential property lettings in the UK or abroad with an opportunity to regularise their affairs by disclosing any outstanding liabilities, whether due to misunderstanding the tax rules or because of deliberate tax evasion.

The campaign was launched in September 2013 and does not currently have an end date. Landlords who do not avail of the opportunity and are targeted by HMRC, can face penalties of up to 100% of the tax due together with possible criminal prosecution.

Taxpayers that come forward will benefit from better terms and lower penalties for making a disclosure. Landlords that make an accurate voluntary disclosure are likely to face a maximum penalty of 0%, 10% or 20% depending on the circumstance on top of the tax and interest due. There are higher penalties for offshore liabilities.

Planning note

There are three main stages to taking part in the campaign: notifying HMRC that you wish to take part, preparing an actual disclosure, and making a formal offer together with payment. The campaign is open to all individual landlords renting out residential property and includes, landlords with multiple properties and single rentals as well as specialist landlords with student or workforce rentals.

If you want to make use of this disclosure facility we can help with the formalities.

HMRC’s Let Property Campaign provides landlords who have undeclared income from residential property lettings in the UK or abroad with an opportunity to regularise their affairs by disclosing any outstanding liabilities whether due to misunderstanding the tax rules or because of deliberate tax evasion.

HMRC has recently updated their online guidance Let Property Campaign, providing examples of the tax errors that landlords make and listing several examples. These examples look at scenarios involving couples moving in together, inheriting a property, divorce and moving to a care home. In all these examples, rental profits need to be declared to HMRC.

The campaign was launched in September 2013 and does not currently have an end date. Landlords who do not avail of the opportunity and are targeted by HMRC can face penalties of up to 100% of the tax due together with possible criminal prosecution.

Taxpayers that come forward will benefit from better terms and lower penalties for making a disclosure. Landlords that make an accurate voluntary disclosure are likely to face a maximum penalty of 0%, 10% or 20% depending on the circumstance on top of the tax and interest due. There are higher penalties for offshore liabilities.

Planning note:

There are three main stages to taking part in the campaign:

  • Notifying HMRC that you wish to take part,
  • Preparing an actual disclosure, and
  • Making a formal offer together with payment. 

The campaign is open to all individual landlords renting out residential property, including landlords with multiple or single rentals as well as specialist landlords with student or workforce rentals. Landlords who feel that they should consider this option would be advised to take professional advice. We can help.

HMRC’s Let Property Campaign targets landlords who have undeclared income from residential property lettings. The campaign offers the opportunity for landlords to come clean about any outstanding liabilities because of misunderstanding the rules or due to deliberate evasion. HMRC has estimatedthat they are losing at least £550m a year in underpaid taxes. The campaign does not currently have a closing date and HMRC will allow landlords to come forward voluntarily throughout the entire time period that the disclosure opportunity remains open.

HMRC has confirmed that taxpayers that come forward voluntarily as part of the initiative will receive better terms and lower penalties than if targeted by HMRC. Landlords that come forward under the terms of the campaign and make an accurate voluntary disclosure are likely to face a maximum penalty of 0%, 10% or 20% depending on the circumstance, these charges will be on top of the tax and interest due. HMRC is unlikely to accept a disclosure under the terms of the campaign where they have already opened an enquiry or compliance check. Landlords who are targeted by HMRC can face penalties of up to 100% of the tax due together with possible criminal prosecution.

The campaign is open to all individual landlords renting out residential property. That includes landlords with multiple properties and single rentals as well as specialist landlords with student or workforce rentals. There are three main stages to taking part in the campaign, notifying HMRC that you wish to take part, preparing an actual disclosure and making a formal offer together with payment.

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Case Studies

The Tax Man

Minimise the stress of an investigation and make use of our extensive experience in securing best outcome for our clients

Business Valuation in Distress

Take advantage of our impartial and rigorous due diligence procedures

FD in The Cupboard

Our innovative ideas are here to improve your business performance and secure appropriate and cost effective funding

The Tax Man

The Tax Man

A new client was introduced to us via a recommendation with whom we arranged to meet on a regular basis in order to determine a number of changes that we felt were needed to their business structure. The client was at the time operating as a husband and wife partnership. The business was flourishing and had a number of large contracts with big organisations.

At the start of the process they were still heavily immersed in their day to day operations so we can get a full flavour for their ambitions, aspirations and growth plans. We quickly recognised there were sufficient tax savings which can be achieved by changing the structure from a partnership to a corporate entity. We carried out a business valuation and disposed of the goodwill from the old to the new business. Unfortunately, as often is the case with efficient tax planning, HMRC got involved and disputed our valuation.

An HMRC investigation can be a very stressful time for any client, even for those best prepared. However, our client had minimal input in the HMRC communication as we dealt with this professionally behind the scene. As an added benefit, our client could rest on the security that all work was covered by insurance and therefore all costs and time in dealing with this enquiry were covered by the fee protection policy we had put in place.

The initial approach taken by HMRC was very aggressive and they tried to present an argument that there was no goodwill in the business. We challenged HMRC’s view that the goodwill was worthless. After lengthy correspondence and numerous telephone calls, HMRC agreed 100% with our original valuation, which preserved our original tax saving plan for the client. Tax savings on this case where in the region of £75K at the outset, with ongoing savings of £6,000 per annum. We are pleased to add another happy client to our portfolio.

Business Valuation in Distress

Business Valuation in Distress

Selling a business is never an easy process, but when disputes arise, the need for a reliable third party due diligence process is even greater.

Tearle & Carver have extensive understanding of the requirements for remaining objective when managing a potentially difficult company buyout. In one such case, we were approached by the courts to act as independent accountant for an acrimonious business sale in which one partner was exiting the business and selling shares to the other. Given the circumstances, both sides had totally polar views of what their business was worth.

After arranging an initial meeting with the company, we were thorough in ensuring we completed due diligence, validating the figures in the accounting records, carrying out adjustments where appropriate, and drafting a set of reliable management figures within the framework required by the court.

A draft version of the report detailing our findings and conclusions was submitted to both parties, giving them the opportunity to voice any queries or concerns and ensure all relevant factors had been taken into account.

Through this process, we were able to submit a final report to the courts that was both binding and acceptable to both parties, effectively resolving what could otherwise have been a time consuming and costly process for all sides.

FD in The Cupboard

FD in The Cupboard

For smaller companies, it is often not possible or cost effective to pay for a full-time Financial Director.
Many of our clients therefore make use of Tearle & Carver’s extensive expertise to provide the services of an FD as and when required.

In this case, we were approached by the management team of an organisation looking to acquire the existing business via an MBO (Management buy out). Their business plan had proved ineffective for securing funding, and what they needed was financial expertise from someone with a developed understanding of the company’s internal workings.

Tearle & Carver helped deliver the solution our clients were looking through utilising our bank contacts in order to make the MBO viable, while also building a robust business plan and preparing our client for the rigorous vetting process. To help with cash flow issues, we introduced factoring which led to improved cash flow management.

We advised on the appropriate business valuation and structure, and continued to prepare monthly accounts to track profgress once the management were fully in command of all the information they needed to move their business forward.

In order to best assist these clients through the crucial first year of ownership, we attended board meetings on a regular basis, a service that we continue to provide to date.

With our continually developing understanding of their business, this client is able to remain confident that Tearle & Carver can provide any financial support they may need, now and in the future.