List Of Tax Deductible Expenses For Landlords [Checklist]

Landlord Tax Deductible Expenses

Oh, this is going to be fun!

Let’s talk taxes! Specifically, expenses landlords can offset against their nasty tax liability. ZZZZZZZZzzzzZZ!

I know, I know, no one wants to be here, but we’re here because paying taxes is a necessary evil, so while there’s no escaping it, we may as well do what we can to minimise the trauma!

Sadly, many landlords end up with larger tax liabilities than necessary, simply because they don’t take full advantage of their allowable expenses.

Before kicking off, here are a few handy and important disclaimers that you should be aware:

  • Legal disclaimer
    You know the drill.

    This blog post is for general guidance only, so none of the information should be construed as advice. I’m not an accountant or financial professional by any stretch (I’m just a landlord), so you should always seek professional tax advice before making any decisions.

  • The limitations of my checklist

    • While my list is pretty extensive (if I do say myself), it isn’t exhaustive. So if you suspect you have a deductible expense that’s not listed, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not.
    • If your rental business is operating under a registered company, then you’ll be entitled to additional deductible expenses (e.g. interest on business loans), in which case I highly recommend getting professional advice.

    We cool? Excellent. Let’s do this…

    Landlord Tax Deductible Expenses

    Accountancy

    • Financial advice
    • Accountancy fees
    • Bookkeeping fees
    • Accountancy Software

    Education & Support

    • Landlord Associations
    • Training costs
    • Seminars
    • Courses / workshops (e.g. tax planning, compliance, ending tenancies etc.)
    • Books

    Healthy & Safety

    • Electrical safety certificates
    • Gas safety certificates
    • Smoke and C02 alarms
    • Legionnaire tests

    Insurance & Service charges

    • Landlord licences (if applicable)
    • Building insurance
    • Rent guarantee insurance
    • Public liability insurance
    • Contents insurance
    • Ground rents where applicable
    • Council tax (if paid by landlord)
    • Utility bills e.g. gas, electricity, water etc. (if paid by landlord)

    Legal & Paperwork

    • Solicitor fees
    • Legal fees (e.g. evictions and disputes)
    • Debt collection fees
    • Document fees (e.g. eviction notices, tenancy contracts)

    Office

    • Telephone costs (of your business landline or business mobile)
    • Stationary costs
    • Internet costs
    • Computer equipment if it is used solely for business purposes

    Lettings, Advertising & Marketing

    • Lettings & management fees
    • Rent collection services
    • The cost of hosting and maintaining a website
    • The cost of any advertising (e.g. online, newspapers etc)
    • Property photography

    Transport & Travel

    • Inspection visits
    • Visiting the letting agent
    • Viewings
    • Accountant visits
    • Solicitor visits
    • Property maintenance visits

    Repairs & Maintenance

    • Property repairs
    • General maintenance
    • Cleaning services
    • Labour
    • General maintenance – like for like repairs and replacements
    • Tools and materials required to assist with maintenance
    • Removal costs
    • Skip hire

    Furnishings

    • Any moveable furniture, like tables, wardrobes, shelves, bookcases, etc.
    • Furnishings e.g. carpets, mirrors, lamps, curtains
    • Household appliances e.g. white goods, TVs and other electrical items
    • Kitchenware e.g. crockery and cutlery
    • Furniture restoration/repairs
    • Furniture replacement (must be like-for-like and not “betterment”)

    Expenses landlords cannot claim a deduction for

    The following is mostly snatched directly from the GOV website (so don’t shoot the messenger):

    • Private telephone calls
    • Clothing – for example, if you bought a suit to wear to a meeting relating to your property rental business
    • Personal expenses – you cannot claim for any expense that was not incurred solely for your property rental business
    • Allowable expenses do not include “capital expenditure”:
      • add something to the property that was not there before
      • alter, improve or upgrade something that was existing
      • include the purchase of furnishings and equipment for the property

      Capital expenses are not allowable and cannot be claimed against your rental income but you should keep records of them as you might be able to set them against Capital Gains Tax if you sell the property in the future. Examples of capital expenses:

      • adding an extension
      • installing a security system if there was not one before
      • replacing a kitchen with one of a higher specification
    • Wear and tear
    • “Finance costs” – after the introduction of Section 24 – and after it fully rolled out in 2021 – landlords can no longer offset any finance costs against their tax liability. That includes interest on any loans (e.g. mortgages, overdrafts etc) and any associated fees (e.g. arrangement fees).

    Save all your receipts and account for every single penny spent on your rental property, even puny items like a pack of nails. Every penny adds up and an accumulation can even push down your tax band.

    It’s also worth noting that I was recently advised by a specialist tax account that the biggest mistake landlords make when doing their accounts is not keeping detailed records of their income and expenditure. HMRC have the power to call upon records in the event of an enquiry and penalties can arise if supporting evidence is not made available.

    Capital Expenses (“betterment”) explained

    The lord knows I don’t want to keep here longer than necessary (because this is topic is mortifying enough), so believe me when I say that it’s important to know what “Capital Expenses” are in order to get a better understanding of what is a taxable expense for landlords. Fortunately it’s simple enough to understand, but it’s a rule that many landlords are oblivious to.

    I already briefly touched on “capital expenses”, but I didn’t really explain it.

    In short, a capital expense (also referred to as “betterment”) is an expense that increases your capital. In other words, anything that increases the value of your property (e.g. extensions, renovations). Capital expenses are NOT tax deductible.

    This also applies to repairs/replacing items. For example, you can only deduct up to the value of a like for like replacement, so if you replace or upgrade an item that adds value to the property, it could be classed as betterment. There are very few exceptions, of course. For example, even though replacing single glazing windows with double glazing is technically “betterment”, it is seen as incidental, because the single glazed window is being replaced with the nearest modern equivalent.

    Okay, time to put you out of your misery and cut the feed.

    I hope the list has been useful and given you a sense of what can and can’t used as a deductible tax expense.

    Landlord out xo

6 Join the Conversation...

Guest Avatar
janni 12th September, 2023 @ 13:57

The biggest area is claiming expenses against training. People think just because they have been on a course it is tax deductible when in all likelihood it may not be. Surely a business has to be running first as the course has to be exclusively for the business and it has to build on your experience. Also the question is does your business need you to be trained - a landlord doesnt need to be trained. If you are a landlord and wish to expand into serviced accommodation then this is not adding to your current knowledge but it is another business. If you are able to clarify this area of expenses Im sure it would be a great help.

1
The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 14th September, 2023 @ 16:26

Hi Janni,

I get what you're saying, that you can't just go on random courses, make no use of it, and then deduct it as an expense.

However, I can think of many legitimate cases whereby it is very likely that landlord courses/training can be tax deductible.

I think you might be looking at it the wrong way (or at least, from a different angle than me).

There a lot of workshops for actual landlords, including tax planning, compliance, ending tenancies etc, and they're all very useful, especially for self-managing landlords.

2
Guest Avatar
Kim 5th November, 2023 @ 11:40

Arrangement fees

Having had to pay a large Arrangement fee I have been researching if this is an allowable expense, what I understand so far is this is an 100% allowable expense and goes in the 'legal management and other professional fees box'. If the fee is then added to the loan, you then also claim the 20% mortgage interest relief. There seems to be conflicting information on this, even on the HMRC website.

https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/ifp/22f4c609-c56c-ed11-97b2-00155d3ba57b

Any clarification on this? Thanks

3
The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 5th November, 2023 @ 12:24

Hey Kim,

Wow, that thread is an absolute sh*tshow.

The admins are in a shambles.

HMRC Admin 5 & HMRC Admin 20 are referencing PIM2105, which seems to be relevant to "commercial" businesses only. So completely irrelevant.

HMRC Admin 25 says "Yes, you can claim the costs of getting a loan or alternative finance to buy a property that you let"

HMRC Admin 19 says "these can be claimed as expenses, use the legal management and other professional fees box."

I wonder if they're all going by PIM2105?

HMRC Admin 10 states "No, not as allowable expenses."

From what I've always understood, under Section 24, finance related arrangement fees aren't an "allowance expense".

However, I'm going to ask around and see if I can get some feedback from a qualified accountant.

Bear with me, please.

4
The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 5th November, 2023 @ 14:07

Hey Kim,

I've gone away and asked the community and did my own research (to help reconfirm my initial thoughts).

Since I'm NOT qualified to give you (or anyone else) financial advice, I'm just going to present why I believe it is not tax deductible, and then you can make up your own mind.

Fair enough? :)

1) As said, the admins in the community forum are referencing PIM2105, which seems to be only applicable to commercial rentals.

2) I asked on twitter:

https://twitter.com/The_Landlord/status/1721138910791647346

Everyone who responded also thought it's not tax deductible. Someone also raised this really good point:

I believe you are correct. Otherwise we'd have very high fee, zero interest mortgages to effectively bypass S24. We do not, so the fees can't be deducted.

3) This is what convinced me it's not tax deductible.

Here is the S24 legislation:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/33/section/24

It states:

In calculating the profits of a property business for income tax purposes for the tax year 2020-21 or any subsequent tax year, no deduction is allowed for costs of a dwelling-related loan.

(5)“Costs”, in relation to a dwelling-related loan, means—
(a)interest on the loan,
(b)an amount in connection with the loan that, for the person receiving or entitled to the amount, is a return in relation to the loan which is economically equivalent to interest, or
(c)incidental costs of obtaining finance by means of the loan.

(6)Section 58(2) to (4) (meaning of “incidental costs of obtaining finance”) apply for the purposes of subsection (5)(c).

So then if we look up S58 (to find out what “incidental costs of obtaining finance” means), which is the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, it states that:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/5/section/58

(2)“Incidental costs of obtaining finance” means expenses—
(a)which are incurred on fees, commissions, advertising, printing and other incidental matters, and
(b)which are incurred wholly and exclusively for the purpose of obtaining the finance, providing security for it or repaying it.

(3)Expenses incurred wholly and exclusively for the purpose of—
(a)obtaining finance, or
(b)providing security for it,

So in my mind, it seems clear to me that finance arrangement fees are not tax deductible.

Hope that helps.

5
Guest Avatar
Kim 6th January, 2024 @ 11:08

Sorry its taken so long to get back to you, really appreciate you looking in to this and your detailed reply, very helpful 😊

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