Fee Protection Service
HMRC finds landlords an easy target to investigate because of the depth and variety of information it receives and gathers.
When selecting a landlord for enquiry, HMRC can check:
- The Land Registry records to find out when a let property was bought and how much for.
- Voters List entries to confirm whether the property is lived in by multiple occupants unrelated to the owner.
- The value of housing benefit payments made to any tenants.
Over recent years, HMRC has also served letting agents with annual information notices to supply details of rents collected on behalf of landlords.
Changes have also been announced regarding some of the expenditure landlords are going to be allowed to claim. In April 2016, the wear and tear allowance was abolished and, from April 2017, the amount of mortgage interest which can be claimed by landlords is going to be gradually reduced.
HMRC will also want to make sure mistakes are not being made in relation to expenditure claims.
Our Fee Protection Service is designed to provide our clients with protection against the fees arising from professional representation during such a review or enquiry. If you are chosen for review we will be able to:
- Respond to HMRC on your behalf.
- Deal with all correspondence.
- Prepare and defend your case.
- Negotiate the best possible outcome for you.
An investigation into a set of rental accounts can often lead to a wider enquiry, especially if HMRC are unable to verify how the purchase of the let property was funded or how any subsequent improvements, prior to letting, were paid for.
Our Fee Protection Service is the sensible step to take, just in case a review/enquiry letter does arrive from HMRC.
Please contact Sue Stephens, Tax Partner, if you are interested in learning more about this service and the support we provide to our clients.
