Let Property Campaign

If you owe tax on your letting income you’ll need to tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about the income you haven’t declared by making a voluntary disclosure.

To get the best possible terms, you must tell HMRC that you wish to take part. You’ll then have 90 days to calculate and pay what you owe.

Who can do this

You can report previously undisclosed taxes on rental income to HMRC under the Let Property Campaign if you’re an individual landlord renting out residential property.

This includes you if you’re:

• renting out a single property
• renting out multiple properties
• a specialist landlord, eg student or workforce rentals
• renting out a room in your main home for more than the Rent a Room Scheme threshold
• living abroad and renting out a property in the UK
• living in the UK and renting a property abroad
• renting out a holiday home even if you use it yourself

You can’t use this scheme to declare undisclosed income if you’re a company or a trust renting out residential property or if you’re renting out commercial property.

If you aren’t sure whether you need to disclose unpaid taxes under this campaign you can use this questionnaire to help you make the right decision about the action you need to take. You’ll answer a few simple questions and get guidance on what you need to do that is specific to your circumstances.

Case studies

You can become a landlord for many different reasons; you might not even think of yourself as one. This could be because you’ve:

• inherited a property
• just rented out a flat to cover your mortgage payments
• moved in with someone and need to rent out your house

Read some examples of tax errors landlords make to see if you’ve misunderstood the rules.

Whether your errors were due to misunderstanding the rules, or you deliberately avoided paying the right amount, you should notify HMRC now rather than wait until they uncover the errors.

If you should disclose but choose not to

HMRC is targeting tax evasion by residential landlords. They’ll use information they have about property rental in the UK and abroad and other information they hold on customers to identify people who might not have paid what they owe.

If you don’t make a voluntary disclosure now and HMRC finds out later, you could get higher penalties or face criminal prosecution.

How to disclose your income

Read the guidance on making a disclosure and disclose your income to HMRC. You’ll need a Government Gateway account.

You can use a calculator to help you work out what you owe. There’s a different calculator if you need to tell us about more than 7 years of unpaid tax.

If you need more time to pay, you must call the helpline before your 90-day deadline.

Help and advice

You can:

• use HMRC’s letting a property e-learning course, which includes information on different types of property income, how they’re taxed, key dates, record keeping and expenses
• read Income tax when you rent out a property for more information and examples
• view HMRC webinars for more guidance on property income
• read more about how to make a voluntary disclosure
• watch a video about HMRC campaigns

Call the Let Property Campaign helpline if you need advice.

Fire safety guidance

If you are the owner of a property over 18 metres in height, please read the advice on:

• fire safety issues
• the provision for building owners to access testing of cladding if you have concerns