Our family is big in UK ! Real estate to be discovered!

 

Property price growth has slowed in recent years, making buying to let more risky than it has been in the past.

Furthermore, the government has clamped down on the buy-to-let market in recent years with changes to the tax system. Firstly, in 2016 it added a 3% surcharge in stamp duty on additional properties, such as second homes and buy-to-let properties.

Secondly, since 2017 the government has been reducing mortgage interest relief. The previous scheme enabled landlords to deduct the interest they pay on their mortgage before paying tax.

This effectively gave higher-rate taxpayers 40% tax relief on their mortgage payments. Now, landlords will be given a flat-rate tax credit based on 20% of their mortgage interest.

This won’t have a negative impact on most landlords who were already basic-rate taxpayers, but will mostly affect those who are higher or top-rate taxpayers.

However, one snag is that landlords will have to declare the income used to pay their mortgage on their tax return (under the old system, they could declare rental income after deducting mortgage repayments).

This apparent income rise could push some up from the basic rate to the higher rate, which would mean a higher tax bill.

With mortgage interest relief no longer on offer, many landlords have seen their profits significantly reduce – in particular, higher rate taxpayers.

They can no longer receive the full 40% tax relief on their mortgage payments, so their tax relief is effectively halved.

The new changes are particularly hard hitting for landlords with interest-only mortgages (which the majority are) paying higher tax rates.