Happy Christmas From HMRC!

The Let Property Campaign shows no sign of relenting, and it has come to our attention today (5th December 2014) that H M Revenue and Customs are to send out another two batches of letters to landlords; one somewhat smaller batch before Christmas, but then one HUGE batch of many thousands just after the festive period.

Hoping to capitalise on the increased attention that personal tax receives in January due to the 31st January tax return deadline, it is expected that this send out of letters will be of significant gain to HMRC.

It serves as a reminder that any landlords with undeclared taxable rental profits in the past, must come forward now, to ensure they benefit from the more favourable terms the HMRC Let Property Campaign offers. If you are still yet to receive an AI prompted letter, now is the time to come forward to benefit from even more favourable terms.

Dependent on your circumstances, there is usually a penalty of 5%, 10%, 20% or 35% under the campaign. It is of paramount importance to come forward before HMRC come to you.

However, once the campaign ends, you would be subject to the standard current penalty regime, which is summarised below. Please note, that there are separate fines for both late payment of tax, and late submission of your tax return under the standard rules.

Penalties for late filing of your self assessment tax return:

• £100 if you are one day late; PLUS

• £10 per day, if you are 3 months late, up to a maximum value of £900; PLUS

• The greater of 5% of the tax owed or £300 if you are 6 months late; PLUS

• The greater of 5% of the tax owed or £300 if you are 6 months late; PLUS

• HMRC may impose penalties of up to 100% in some cases.

Penalties for late payment of tax arising on your self assessment tax return:

• 5% of the tax owed on your self assessment tax return if you do not pay within 30 days of the 31st January deadline; PLUS

• Another 5% of the tax owed on your self assessment tax return if you do not pay within 6 months of the 31st January deadline; PLUS

• Another 5% of the tax owed on your self assessment tax return if you do not pay within 12 months of the 31st January deadline.

Of course, if you are late with filing, and late paying, then both penalties would apply to you.

Therefore, it emphasises the point as to how crucial it is to come forward now under the Let Property Campaign if you have undeclared rental profits, and stay compliant moving forward.

Here at RITA, our clients are solely property investors, and we specialise in providing landlord and property tax advice, offering a full Let Property Campaign service, from start to finish.

By using our Let Property Campaign services, you also benefit from one year’s free membership of our partners, the Residential Landlords Association, who represent over 18,500 UK landlords, and provide a wealth of excellent services to property investors.

For an initial confidential discussion, please do not hesitate to contact us via email, or on 0800 1 22 33 57.

Further Reading:

Let Property Campaign Letter

HMRC Let Property Campaign – A Testimonial

HMRC Disclosure Form DO2 Delays

HMRC’s Let Property Campaign

Let Property Campaign letters sent out by HMRC – The Second Wave

Let Property Campaign – Tip No. 1

LET PROPERTY CAMPAIGN – TIP NO. 2

LET PROPERTY CAMPAIGN – TIP NO. 3

Let Property Campaign AI Letter and Penalty

Free Membership – Residential Landlords Association