We took the opportunity of attending the Landlord Investment Show which was held at The Western Homes Community Stadium Colchester on 5 March 2015. Taking stands at these events is not something that Lambert Chapman do on a regular basis but knowing that there is a large rental market in Colchester we felt it might be worth attending as clients have misconceptions about paying tax on rental property.
The event was well attended and on top of the various businesses that were, along with ourselves, showcasing their products and services two seminar rooms were running during the day where industry experts made presentations to those attending. We saw a dynamic presentation by Marie Parris of George Elliot Property Services on selecting your own tenants and a
Our team on the day were Nick Forsyth and Chris Harman who were ably backed up by Chris Maher and Sarah Hamilton from our tax team. We handled a variety of questions on rental accounts from delegates and networked with exhibitors from other local practices. It was a new experience for Sarah and Chris and both acquitted themselves well in handling questions and explaining our price structure and procedures for work on that part of the tax return.
We are used to misconceptions regarding property rental such as “I paid £200,000 for the property and I haven’t collected that much in rent yet so I’ve no tax to pay” or “My rent in equals my mortgage out so there is no profit” and we know, as do HM Revenue & Customs, that there are taxpayers out there who are not reporting their property income on a tax return.
HM Revenue & Customs have for some time now been approaching letting agents and asking for lists of landlords so that they can check that tax returns are being prepared. If you are in, or you know of people who are in, this situation please contact us before HM Revenue & Customs contact you/them as we can help regularise your affairs and try to help mitigate any penalties that might be chargeable.
For more information on the taxation of rental property please contact Chris Harman or Chris Maher in our tax team on 01376 326266.
You can read the latest issue of the Landlord Investor Magazine, featuring an article on the Colchester property market here.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the Author and other professionals may express different views. They may not be the views of Lambert Chapman LLP. The material in the article cannot and should not be considered as exhaustive. Professional advice should be sought in connection with any of the issues contained in the article and the implementation of any actions.