When is income rental?

mlz1413

Hi, I am just looking for a bit of advice. 

I have 1 rental property that came empty in August. I have chosen to leave it empty as my mum is coming to stay for 3 weeks this month and it will give her a base and somewhere to stay without having to hop from friend to relative.

I am funding the empty period via my salary so that all the bills are paid as normal. 

I assume the money I am paying in is not rent that I have to declare on my tax return as rental income.  
Equally I don't intend to put the cost of any bills for the empty through.

But is this the correct treatment for my self assessment?

Bookworm105

of course it is not rent, it is your own money.
have you got an accountant for your tax return? Looks like you might need one.

mlz1413

Bookworm105 said:

of course it is not rent, it is your own money.
have you got an accountant for your tax return? Looks like you might need one.

Thanks
I just had a wobble that  because it is my choice to leave it empty then I am effectively paying the rent.

tacpot12

The costs of void periods are a legitimate business expense, if you are running a rental business. HMRC might argue that your business has been temporarily suspended, but for such a short period, I would say you are fine to treat it as a void period and claim the expenses, such as council tax, as normal.

It's even more reasonable if you use the time to make any repairs or improvements that are necessary after the tenants move out. 

Jeremy535897

Bookworm105 said:

tacpot12 said:

The costs of void periods are a legitimate business expense, if you are running a rental business. HMRC might argue that your business has been temporarily suspended, but for such a short period, I would say you are fine to treat it as a void period and claim the expenses, such as council tax, as normal.

It's even more reasonable if you use the time to make any repairs or improvements that are necessary after the tenants move out. 

but it is not a void period in that sense, it will be occupied rent free by his mother
the costs in that case are not allowable against tax as the taxpayer is not in the habit of funding the living costs of family members  

See https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/property-income-manual/pim2130

mlz1413

Thank you for the link. 
 I always apply the rule Wholly and Exclusively for business purposes,  but that link clearly states how allowing family to stay is treated. 
My mind is much clearer for getting your advice so thank you all.
Yes I will discuss with my accountant but I like to know what the rules are too.

williscreg

For your self-assessment, you should not declare this as rental income. However, you also can't claim any expenses related to the property during the time it’s unoccupied. If you have any expenses that are ongoing and related to maintaining the property (like council tax, insurance, etc.), you might still be able to claim those if they're typical for a rental property. Recently, I discovered magnifi financial customer service contacts, and it seems like they’re going to be a great resource for my investment journey.