Undeclared income from rental of property in the EU

Hi! I am a UK resident and I purchased a property in a EU country which I let starting from 2018. I was advised at the time that all property-related taxes (including the income from rental) needed to be paid in the EU country in which the property was located (as UK past part of the EU at the time) and that, because of this, there was no need to also declare this income in the UK. Fast forward to 2024, I have now become aware that this is not entirely correct and that I must also declare this income in the UK through the Self-assessment process. I am now taking steps to correct this error the best I can. In light of this, I have a few questions: 1. I am now registering for Self-assessment and there are two boxes: 'Date started receiving taxable foreign income' and 'Date untaxed income received from'. Which box do I go with in my case? Also, do I put in here the date when I started receiving the income from the rental of my foreign property, or will I do this as part of the main Self-Assessment? 2. Given that I haven't been aware of these obligations until now, can you advise what kind of penalties, if any at all, will apply to not having declared this income since 2018? Many thanks in advance for your answer.

Hi,
Please use the box 'date started receiving the foreign income' and put the date that you received your first foreign income from property payment.
You may not owe any tax at all as usually the tax that you paid in the country that this property is situated in can usually be declared on your return & offset against any potential UK tax owing.  
For further guidance:
The Let Property Campaign
Thank you.

Thank you for your reply. To calculate the foreign income that I need to declare for each of the past financial years which foreign exchange rate should I use? Do I use today’s exchange rate for all sums or do I use an average exchange rate corresponding to each of the years I need to declare the foreign income for? Many thanks in advance for your reply.

Hi,

The exchange rate that should be used should reflect the date the income was paid. 

Thank you.