Claiming mortgage interest relief (Tax Credit) via SA for previous tax years?

PeteSouthgate72

Hopefully someone can shed some light on this. I've been a landlord the last few years and have always submitted my self assessment tax returns.

I was under the impression mortgage interest doesn't count as an allowable expense, but I've done some Googling this week and found out it's possible to claim a tax credit of 20% of the interest element of your mortgage payments.

My questions are:

i. If I haven't started claiming my mortgage interest until now, would that be an issue for HMRC? I'm sure I can get my statement records from the mortgage lender that'll show my interest payments.

ii. I'm not really sure how many years back in which I could claim? I'm assuming I would have to go through my old self assessments and input figures and then wait for HMRC to issue the tax credits from the previous years.

iii. If I were to take out a remortgage to do some renovation works on the rented property, would the setup fees for the remortgage also be able to be marked as an expense and in return receiving a 20% tax credit?

Thank you

anselld

You can claim up to four years after the end of the relevant tax year by writing to HMRC.
Yes you can claim credit against finance arrangement fees.

LegallyLandlord

Sounds like it might make sense to use an accountant. There might be other allowable expenses you can claim as well. Mine charges me very little and I have the peace of mind knowing it’s been done properly. 

TripleH

If you use an accountant bear in mind you may struggle to find one at this time of year who can fit you in (it is the busiest time) and expect to pay a lot for it.

If you get all your paperwork together first with your expenses and a breakdown of what capital and interest you have paid for the last 4 years that could save you money. Even better if its all on a spreadsheet.

Do you have a self assessment account set up for filing?

The more you can do beforehand, the more money you could save especially if it is just a review and file of your figures.