Hi all, I'm confused with the whole tax issue and when you file returns and pay tax. I'm a basic rate taxpayer even with my rental income £10.5 k rental. I became a landlord in June 2015. As I understand it we are currently in the 2014 tax year. The 31st January filings are for 2014. I will have to file for next January??
Tax year end when to start
- Thread starter OvertonPlumber
- Start date
Sponsored Links
D
Deleted member 63160
Yep. The return due shortly is for year ending April 2015.
The HMRC web site tells you what you need to know. The deadline for online filing of a tax return for the 2014-15 tax year is the end of this month. I've done mine. As you became a landlord in June 2015, you will have to file a return by next January for 2015-16. You can ask HMRC questions, by email and phone, they are quite helpful if not always intelligible ... 
Sponsored Links
The best thing really is to get an accountant. They don't all charge a fortune, and they already know all the ins and outs of the tax system. They will probably save you money. As already said HMRC are helpful, but they only answer the questions you actually ask.
I used an accountant for about 10 years. Did they save me money? No. And I might be in trouble for last year's tax return as a result of my accountants advice, time will tell if HMRC can be bothered. Hopefully there are bigger fish to fry.
A lot depends on what you're good at and what you're trained for. There's no reason to suppose a train driver will be a good electrician, or a plumber will be a good book-keeper. Lots of small builders go bust (some of them repeatedly) and some are very bad at the business side.
I used to do my own accounts, meticulously, but still had a wrangle with the tax office once because they thought (wrongly) I had claimed too much relief on pension contributions. An accountant who has other clients in the same line of business as you, should know all the ins and outs, and be able to give useful advice. I'd say avoid one who tries to get too clever, or tries it on. If HMRC think he's sailing close to the wind, they'll get out their big magnifying glass to examine all his clients. Even if you are in the clear, it wastes your time.
I believe they use a model of what they think a typical person in your line should earn, what the materials cost and expenses should be as a proportion of revenue, and so forth, and if you have anything unusual about your patterns, they will want to see why.
I used to do my own accounts, meticulously, but still had a wrangle with the tax office once because they thought (wrongly) I had claimed too much relief on pension contributions. An accountant who has other clients in the same line of business as you, should know all the ins and outs, and be able to give useful advice. I'd say avoid one who tries to get too clever, or tries it on. If HMRC think he's sailing close to the wind, they'll get out their big magnifying glass to examine all his clients. Even if you are in the clear, it wastes your time.
I believe they use a model of what they think a typical person in your line should earn, what the materials cost and expenses should be as a proportion of revenue, and so forth, and if you have anything unusual about your patterns, they will want to see why.
Fair enough. I've heard the same thing before. Hope you get it sorted OK.
The problem is that if you are doing anything more complicated than running a small, very straightforward business, then rules can get complicated and they also change as time goes on. I check what my accountant is doing and discuss anything I have questions about with them. If the OP has no experience of doing his own books and tax return then I'd at least seek an accountant's advice myself. Like with everything though at the end of the day it's up to the individual which course they take.
Despite what I said I do agree with you, an accountant is advisable if you run a company, assuming you don't go under IR35 in which case an Unbrella company will do it all for you anyway.
We could be the same person in that respect. I to started renting around the same time and with the same approximate rental income and was told you need to file before January 2017.
One interesting thing you might like to know (and that I still don't fully understand) is that your expenses can be offset against various things. The accountant I spoke to said I could offset the expenses against the capital gains tax I would pay if I ever sold the property OR on my earnings. I've a huge bag of receipts and you should keep yours for when the need arises as you'll have to pay that capital gains if you ever sold, as it's not a property you live in
Sponsored Links
