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Suitable for all business typesLtd companies, sole traders & partnerships
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Digital format (or add print too)Whatever your preference, you've got it
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Written by leading UK tax professionals
Every article is written and reviewed by practising accountants, Chartered Tax Advisers and specialist property tax consultants, including contributors such as Mark McLaughlin and Malcolm Finney. You're getting advice from people who advise real landlords and property investors on real tax problems, not generic guidance.
New articles published
in November 2026
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Tax Advice From the Pub: It Won’t Save You From a Penalty
When it comes to informal advice on subjects such as tax, a common expression is that the advice was given by the colloquial ‘man in the pub’, particularly if that advice turns out to be wrong.
Where tax advice given by non-tax qualified friends or family (or even by an actual ‘man in the pub’!) results in a tax compliance failure by the recipient of that tax advice, the question arises whether HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can impose a penalty for that breach.
Mark McLaughlin highlights the importance of checking the accuracy of informal tax advice. -
Spent on the Property Before the First Tenant: Can You Deduct It?
A landlord, or property company, buys its first investment property. Before the first tenant moves in, repairs are carried out, the property is redecorated, services are updated and perhaps work is undertaken to meet safety requirements. No rental income has yet been received. Can the expenditure be deducted?
The answer is not automatically ‘no’ simply because the costs were incurred before the first letting.
Angela Petty outlines how the pre-commencement expenditure rules can provide tax relief for repairs incurred before the first letting. -
Renovation Costs: Repair or Improvement for Tax?
Despite the apparent ‘easy wins’ of popular property makeover shows and generally high demand for residential lets, in reality landlords are stuck in a quagmire caused by spiralling costs and regulatory pressures.
To mitigate these challenges, maximising tax relief on expenditure is essential to reduce a property’s overall opportunity cost and improve cash flow, particularly as we head towards the dampening effects of the new 2027/28 property tax regime.Debbie Reyland considers some tricky distinctions when claiming tax relief on renovation costs.
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Airbnb Lets: Don’t Assume the Rent a Room Scheme Applies
Rent-a-room relief is a useful relief, which allows people to earn tax-free income when letting furnished accommodation in their only or main home. It can also be used where the letting activity amounts to a trade (e.g., where a person runs a guest house or a bed-and-breakfast or provides services such as meals and cleaning). It is available for both short-term and long-term lets. Both owner-occupiers and tenants can benefit from the relief.
Sarah Bradford considers when the rent-a-room scheme is available for Airbnb-type lets.
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Q&As with Arthur Weller
Some of our most popular articles
Joint property letting vs partnershipsProperty partnerships seem popular these days – typically, as a stepping-stone to greater things. Regular readers will know that I have long criticised HMRC’s published position on whether a property partnership exists, as distinct from simply co-owned property. My argument is that HMRC has drawn up its guidance to set an unreasonably high threshold to ‘make the grade’ as a partnership.
Lee Sharpe looks at whether a joint property letting activity amounts to a partnership, and why it is relevant to landlords.
Main residence relief and multiple residencesMost people do not expect to have to pay capital gains tax (CGT) when they sell their home. Private residence relief (also known as main residence relief or principal private residence relief) normally applies in full when the property has been the taxpayer’s only or main residence throughout the whole period for which they have owned it.
Sarah Bradford outlines the concept of a ‘main’ residence for capital gains tax purposes.
- That old boiler: Repairs or improvement?
The government (HMRC) has become increasingly worried about the volume of small and medium-sized enterprise research and development (R&D) tax credit payments where a company claims to have undertaken eligible R&D activity (and it is important to keep in mind that only certain types of R&D may qualify – there are a lot of criteria).
Lee Sharpe looks at tax aspects of modernising property and the risk of disallowance as improvements that constitute capital expenditure, losing income tax relief in the property business.
Investing in commercial property: Tax implicationsWhether to buy commercial or residential property depends on various factors, not least the more beneficial tax system for commercial lets and whether an individual or a company is purchasing the property. The government wishes to encourage commercial lets and therefore permits a more generous tax regime than residential lettings.
Jennifer Adams considers some important tax benefits of investing in commercial property.
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Q&As with Arthur Weller
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DIGITAL
- Instant access to 840 digital articles
- Downloadable PDFs
DIGITAL + PRINT
- Instant access to 840 digital articles
- Downloadable PDFs
- Print copy delivered monthly
-
Suitable for all business typesLtd companies, sole traders & partnerships
-
Digital format (or add print too)Whatever your preference, you've got it
-
Published every monthSo you're always kept up to date
-
90-day money back guarantee100% of your money back, no quibble
-
Instant back catalogue accessOver 840 articles to help you save tax
-
No commitmentNo minimum tie-ins, cancel anytime
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