Self Assesment help

jess8905

Please be gentle, I'm new to all this.

My husband and I have put a property on rent through a letting agent (we used to live in this property)

I am going to do the self assesment form online and wanted to know do I calculate all our costs and profits and then divide in half and use those figures for our individual returns.

Any help is appreciated

Jess

Treading_Water

The simple answer is yes.

Pennywise

You both have to fill in the property pages of your self assessment tax return.

There are boxes to fill in for your share of the rental income and then separate boxes for each type of expense.

You need to look at the help/notes for the property pages (available on paper from their helpline or you can search their website) which explains what expenses are allowable.

Only mortgage interest is allowable, not capital repayments, so you need your annual mortgage statement to see what interest you have been charged.

Most repairs (decorating, servicing, property repairs) are allowable, but not any improvements, such as extensions. Replacement of windows, doors, heating systems, fitting kitchens/bathrooms etc are not so easy to decide whether allowed or not. If they are "like for like" replacements, then probably allowable as repairs, but if there is improvement, the probably not allowable against rental income (but allowable against capital gains on eventual sale instead).

You can also claim for administering the property, i.e. mileage allowance to attend banks, accountants, letting agents, property, etc. Phone calls, postage, etc.

jess8905

Thank you Pennywise, a very helpful post

ks62uk

Make sure you tick the box that says the income is from jointly held property.
The helpsheets are at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/forms/net-07-08.htm (scroll down to the UK Property section)