Income tax relief on UK property income for non-resident

Hi, I live in the EU and earn rental income on a UK property. I declare this on my self-assessment and in previous years have paid tax on this (minus my personal allowance). However this year my self assessment tax calculation says that I have received income tax relief which is equal to the profit from the property. The result is a total income of zero, thus no tax liability. Does anyone know why I am getting this income tax relief now?

Hi,

This is in relation to the mortgage on the property. You can no longer claim this as an expense to reduce the profit. It is now given as a relief at 20% to reduce the overall tax due. It is limited to the actual tax that is due hence you have nothing to pay.

Tax relief for residential landlords: how it's worked out

Thank you.

Well that is puzzling because I do not have a mortgage on the property. Is there any other reason for this income tax relief. I did not receive it in any of the previous tax years.

Hi theold codger,

You may have completed the tax return incorrectly.
You will need to telephone to have this checked +44 161 931 9070

Thank you.

Thank you for the reply however I filled in the tax return the same as every previous year. Apart from the numbers there is very little to change. I have tried phoning but the waiting times are unreal, I have hung on for over one hour and got nowhere and phoning from the EU is not cheap. There is not even any indication of what number you are in the queue. I have now written a letter in the hope that this is a speedier way of getting through!

Just to let you know that I persisted and eventually got a resolution. Having had no reply from the letter I sent - (is it within the regulations to ignore a letter?) - I tried phoning again and after one hours waiting time someone picked up. I explained the situation and the operator checked my tax return and discovered that someone had input the figures from my paper return incorrectly. They confirmed my return was correctly filled in. This resulted in an updated tax bill which I had to pay right away. When I enquired if I could get any tax relief for the cost of the phone calls, I was told there was no mechanism for doing this.