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Posted Sat, 02 Sep 2023 02:05:31 GMT by
Hi, I bought a new built flat as a buy-to-let property (unfurnished) and it was completed in July 2022. Now I will need to submit the self-assessment form in 2022-2023. I have a few expenses listed below that would like to confirm if they are deductible against rental income. 1) Bank transfer fee to the solicitor before completion 2) The flat does not come with a washer dryer, I bought one as the tenant requested 3) As requested by the tenant, I bought curtains and paid for the curtain poles fitting 4) Preparation of Inventory fee to the letting agent after they found the tenant 5) Contract set up fee for new tenancy agreement 6) Ground rent, service fee, electricity, council tax before the tenant moved in Thank you very much and I look forward to hearing from you. 
Posted Tue, 05 Sep 2023 13:30:59 GMT by HMRC Admin 17 Response

Hi,
 
All the expenses apart from the bank fee transfer to the solicitor before completion qualify as rental expenses.

Further guidance is at :

Work out your rental income when you let property  .

Thank you.
Posted Mon, 11 Sep 2023 08:29:30 GMT by
Thank you very much for your response. Would you please advise if the below expenses all belong to Box 29? 1) The flat does not come with a washer dryer, I bought one as the tenant requested 2) As requested by the tenant, I bought curtains and paid for the curtain poles fitting 3) Preparation of Inventory fee to the letting agent after they found the tenant 4) Contract set up fee for new tenancy agreement 5) Ground rent, service fee, electricity, council tax before the tenant moved in Thank you very much.
Posted Mon, 11 Sep 2023 16:17:35 GMT by HMRC Admin 10 Response
Hi
Thank you for your question.
I would enter items 1 and 2  in box 29 'other allowable property expenses' along with electricity and council tax expenditure.
Fees relating to inventory fees to letting agent and tenancy agreements,ground rent and service fees would be placed in box 27 'legal,management and professional fees '.
To summarise all expenses solely used in carrying out of this business incurred before the tenant moved in are allowable as pre letting expenses.
This costs is incurred as it happened on the first day your rented the property out.  
I have attached general expenses listed in the property income manual:
Deductions: main types of expense
Posted Mon, 11 Sep 2023 18:03:34 GMT by
Hi Thank you for sharing the link, but I am sorry that I cannot open it, it said, "Page not found. Status code: 404." Based on your reply above, all my expenses are already covered. Box29 ==> 1&2 + electricity + Council tax Box27 ==> Inventory fee + letting agent fee + contract fee + ground rent + service fee But you have mentioned, "This costs is incurred as it happened on the first day your rented the property out." Does it mean all my expenses item 1-5 are "pre letting expenses"? Because item 1-5 are incurred before the tenant moved in. Thank you.
Posted Tue, 12 Sep 2023 10:30:29 GMT by HMRC Admin 10 Response
Hi
Thank you for your question.
As mentioned in the previous response given, items 1&2 relating to the washer dryer and curtain pole fittings would be inserted into box 29, box 27 would cover inventory fees to letting agent and tenancy agreements, ground rent and service fees.
As shown in PIM2505 on gov.uk, Beginning and end of a rental business: commencement.
Usually a rental business begins when letting first commences, meaning that expenses incurred before the first tenant has moved in, these would be classed as “pre-letting expenses” as long as special rules are met, as specified in PIM2068 in the previous answer given. 

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