Signup to the SWLA
We had a great turn out last night at the Future Inn, Plymouth for our General Speaker Meeting. We had over 65 members in attendance.
Huge thanks to our brilliant speakers.
Iain Pring and Sean Bolter from Westcotts Chartered Accountants, shared their extensive knowledge of all things tax related. They discussed tax deductible expenditure, capital gains, inheritance tax planning and Making Tax Digital.
Our second speaker of the evening was Martyn Taylor of Ashley Taylors Solicitors, who made quite a journey in order to present for us. He shared his experience on court possession cases and gave great advice on how to prevent landlord errors in order to ensure a smooth tenancy. Martyn also shared tips on how to gain possession when required. Look out for Martyn’s next webinar, which SWLA members are welcome to join for free.
Thank you to all who attended, it was great to see everyone and we look forward to the next meet!
Article by GoSimpleTax
What key tax changes are planned from 6 April 2023 and how could they impact you?
Income Tax
1. On 6 April 2023, the Income Tax additional rate threshold (ART) will fall from £150,000 to £125,140. When you earn £125,140 or more a year, you don’t get the £12,570 standard Personal Allowance (PA), because £1 of the PA is taken away for every £2 of your income that’s above £100,000.
According to HMRC: “From 2023 to 2024, this measure will impact around 792,000 taxpayers, of whom around 232,000 will pay the additional rate of tax who would not have done so had this threshold [remained] at £150,000.”
2. The additional rate of tax will remain at 45% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but it will rise from 46% to 47% in Scotland (the higher rate of Income Tax in Scotland will also go up from 41% to 42%), which won’t be welcome news for higher-earning landlords in Scotland.
Capital Gains Tax
3. If you sell property after 6 April 2023, you could well pay thousands of pounds more Capital Gains Tax (CGT). That’s because the annual exempt amount (AEA – how much gain you can make after disposing of an asset before CGT is due) will fall from £12,300 to £6,000 in 2023/24.
Need to know! After the AEA is accounted for, basic rate Income Tax payers pay 18% CGT on gains made from selling residential property (10% on gains from other chargeable assets). Higher rate Income Tax payers pay 28% CGT on gains made from selling residential property (20% on gains from other chargeable assets).
Dividend Allowance
4. From 6 April 2023, the Dividend Allowance will be reduced to £1,000 (it’s been £2,000 since April 2018), which is the amount you can earn in dividend payments before tax is payable. The Dividend Allowance will again be halved in April 2024, falling to just £500.
The amount of tax you pay on dividend income above the dividend allowance, after the Personal Allowance, depends on your Income Tax band:
If you own property and receive dividends from your property company, obviously, these changes are more likely to directly affect you. However, they may or may not be relevant if you pay Income Tax on rental income via Self Assessment but also receive dividend income from shares that you own.
Stamp Duty
5. Landlords planning to buy another property, holiday home or buy-to-let property for more than £40,000 will need to pay an additional 3% on each tier of stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland, and an additional 4% in Wales and Scotland.
In England and NI in the 2023/24 tax year that equates to:
Property price Stamp Duty Rate
Up to £250,000 3%
£250,001- £925,000 8%
£925,001-£1.5m 13%
More than £1.5m 15%
Overseas buyers must pay a 2% surcharge on top of the normal Stamp Duty rates, as well as a 3% buy-to-let surcharge. So, for holiday homes or buy-to-let properties, if you’re an overseas buyer you’ll pay 5% more than the standard rate for UK nationals.
Need to know! The Stamp Duty threshold will fall back down to £125,000 from March 2025. It was doubled in the September 2022 mini-Budget.
Making Tax Digital
6. HMRC has delayed introducing Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for ITSA). It was planned for introduction from April 2024, for sole traders and landlords with a taxable income of more than £10,000, which may have encouraged many landlords to voluntarily start complying with MTD requirements this year.
However, the first phase of MTD for ITSA won’t now be introduced until April 2026 and will only impact those with taxable income of more than £50,000 a year. Further phases of introduction are planned after April 2026.
Time to file your Self assessment tax return?
You can file your 2022-23 Self Assessment tax return any time from 6 April 2023. According to HMRC, 66,465 2021/22 Self Assessment tax returns were filed on 6 April 2022 (almost double the 36,939 Self Assessment tax returns filed on 6 April 2018). You don’t have to be such an early bird, of course, but the sooner you do it, the better.
Need to know! Apart from enabling you to avoid the annual headache that can result from leaving your Self Assessment tax return until January, with the online filing deadline looming on midnight 31st, getting it done earlier means you can find out much sooner whether you’re due a tax rebate.
Income, Expenses and tax submission all in one. GoSimpleTax will provide tips that could save you money on allowances and expenses you might have missed.
Software submits directly to HMRC and is a digital solution for Landlords to record income, expenses and file their self-assessment giving hints on savings along the way.
Covering all self-assessment pages, not just property, GoSimpleTax does all the calculations for you.
SWLA members receive a 25% discount off GoSimpleTax via www.gosimpletax.com/swla