MSE News: Budget 2016: Online sellers and room-renters given £1,000 tax breaks

MSE_Luke

People renting a room out are among those who will benefit from two new £1,000 tax breaks from April 2017...

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'Budget 2016: Online sellers and room-renters given £1,000 tax breaks'

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fluffpot

I'm a bit unclear how the £7,500 tax free and £1,000 figures will work together (if at all?)

I thought that if you rented a room in your home you could from April earn up to £7,500 tax free (was about half this before). Is this still correct?

Upsidedown_Bear

fluffpot wrote: »

I'm a bit unclear how the £7,500 tax free and £1,000 figures will work together (if at all?)

I thought that if you rented a room in your home you could from April earn up to £7,500 tax free (was about half this before). Is this still correct?

From the link above:

What about the 'Rent a Room' scheme?
The allowance relating to property income will operate alongside the existing Rent a Room scheme, which currently allows people renting out their bedrooms to not pay tax on the first £4,250 they earn each year.
The Rent a Room allowance is set to rise to £7,500 in April 2016. Once the new property-related income allowance comes into force, you'll only be able to claim it in addition to the Rent a Room allowance if you're earning from a separate source of property-related income, eg, renting out your driveway in addition to renting out a room.

Chia

If you're self-employed (so already have to fill in a self-assessment form) as, say, a consultant and you also sell a few things on eBay, do you get an extra £1,000 tax free for online selling on top of the usual personal tax allowance of £11,500 or whatever it's just been raised to, or would you have to lump everything together and so miss out on the extra £1k?

05bar76

Will the occasional job allowance apply to reservists? 27 days work spread across a year is what I would consider occasional.

ex2t633w

SO

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if I stick to the April '17 allowance of £1000 per year, can this include " buy to sell " items , or do I need to be a business seller ???
Also

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it can't be very clear if people have been asking so many qu about it ???!!!!!!

r1chardv

This scheme should have now started - I've had zero luck finding any information from HMRC about this - can anyone here help?

I rang the Self Assessment 0300 helpline and the poor girl who took the call knew absolutely nothing - I also emailed a guy whose details are on the only GOV UK web page I can find to mention it - no reply yet , but it has only been 4 days .... :-)

Best kept secret ever or have they dropped it ??

Wednesday100

There was some more information in this December 2016 Government policy paper. which I am guessing is the source of the GOV UK guy's e-mail you mention. I agree it is frustrating that there is no information on this on the HMRC website.

Snakey

It was withdrawn from the Finance Bill, along with most of the other clauses, in order to get the bill through Parliament before the general election. It remains to be seen whether the next government will bring it back and, if they do, whether it will still have a start date of April 2017.

joface

Blimey, wouldn't have know this had been withdrawn if I hadn't read it on here! Have to say I'm very disappointed but lucky I read it on here as would have had a shock (albeit small) come tax return time. Hopefully they will bring it back after the election