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Sarah Bradford explains what the introduction of making tax digital for income tax self-assessment will mean for landlords and how this will change their compliance obligations.

Making tax digital for income tax self-assessment (MTD for ITSA) is being introduced progressively from 6 April 2026. 

Most lifetime gifts of a residential property (e.g., from a parent to adult offspring, where the parent is going into a nursing home) are straightforward ‘potentially exempt transfers’ (PETs) for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes, which become exempt gifts if the parent (in this example) survives at least seven years thereafter. 

Mark McLaughlin highlights possible limits to important inheritance tax exceptions from a ‘gifts with reservation’ charge where a former residence is gifted by an individual and later reoccupied by them.

Swapping properties (HMRC generally terms this as ‘exchanging’ properties) can lead to various tax implications, depending on the nature of the transaction, the parties involved, and the types of properties being exchanged.

Jennifer Adams considers some important tax implications of swapping properties.

VAT on construction can be complex. For example, the VAT treatment of building a simple wall as part of a project might depend on:
•    the category of building – residential, commercial, etc.;
•    whether it is a repair to an existing property or new development;
•    whether it merely extends an existing property or counts as a separate property in its own right; or
•    its intended use once the work is complete.

Lee Sharpe looks at the mechanism designed to help people to reclaim VAT costs on building their own home, and some tips and traps for those hoping to make the best of their claim.

Property 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.  

Most 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. 

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. 

Whether 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.