Rental expense

Ellie77

I'm struggling to determine exactly what can be classed as  allowable expenses. There are three things in particular:

1) Council tax and bills in between tenants.

2) The cost to replace a cowl on the chimney (squirrels managed to get around the old one and ended up coming down the chimney, surprising the tenants).

3) The cost of replacing the lead flashing around the chimney.

I spoke to a tax technician at HMRC and he said no to 2 and 3 as they are not caused by wear and tear from the tenants but that I would be able to deduct them from capital gains when I come to sell the property. However, I have since read that replacement roof tiles are an allowable expense.

Any advice gratefully received.

K_S

@ellie77 Personally, I'd put all three under expenses as it sounds like a clear case of like-for-like replacement of building components. Just make sure you keep all the details and invoices in case it is questioned (unlikely unless you're talking about huge numbers)

If your roof tiles get blown away or you need to get the gutters cleaned, neither of them are caused by "wear and tear" from tenants but can still be expensed, so I'm not sure how that is relevant to deciding whether something is a revenue expense or a capital one.

I'm not an accountant, so I would recommend posting this in the "cutting tax" forum for more informed responses.

Ellie77

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I will do as you have suggested and post in the cutting tax forum.