Brockley & Ladywell
Landlord Accountant in Brockley & Ladywell
Letting a flat in one of SE4's converted Victorian houses, or a whole property you used to live in? We work out your rental profit correctly, claim what you're entitled to, and get you ready for Making Tax Digital before it catches you out.
What we do for landlords
- Your rental income and expenses worked out and reported on your Self Assessment return
- Mortgage interest handled correctly under the finance cost restriction
- Checking whether Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you, and when
- Splitting income properly between joint owners, including spouses and civil partners
- Reporting and paying Capital Gains Tax within 60 days if you sell a residential property
Mortgage interest isn't an expense any more
For residential lettings owned personally, you can no longer deduct mortgage interest from your rental income. Instead you get a tax credit worth 20% of the interest. For a basic-rate taxpayer that works out about the same. For a higher-rate taxpayer it doesn't: your rental profit is taxed at 40%, but your relief on the interest is capped at 20%.
It can also push you into a higher tax band, because your taxable rental profit is calculated before the interest. Landlords who bought years ago, when the whole of the interest could be deducted, are often surprised by the bill. We'll show you what the rules mean for your figures.
Making Tax Digital for landlords
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax started on 6 April 2026 for landlords and sole traders whose combined gross income from property and self-employment is over £50,000. The threshold falls to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. If you're in, you keep digital records and send HMRC quarterly updates through compatible software, then a final declaration after the year ends.
The test uses gross rent, not profit. A landlord with two flats bringing in £2,200 a month each is over £50,000 even if the mortgages mean there's little profit left. If you're close to one of the thresholds, we'll confirm whether you're in and set up the software before your first quarter is due.
Joint owners and married couples
If you own a property with your spouse or civil partner, HMRC taxes the rent 50:50 by default, whatever the deeds say. If you actually own it in unequal shares, you can make a declaration on Form 17 to be taxed on your real shares, which can make sense when one of you pays a lower rate of tax. It has to reflect genuine ownership, and it only works from the date it's made, so it's worth getting advice before assuming you can shift income around.
Creative businesses in SE4
Brockley and Ladywell are also home to plenty of designers, makers and small agencies. If that's you, the questions are usually about uneven project income and setting money aside for tax. Our page for freelancers and one-person companies covers the sole trader or limited company decision in more detail.
Working with us
Landlord records, sorted once a year or every quarter.
Our office is on Verdant Lane, SE6, and we work with landlords from Brockley, Ladywell and nearby by email. Send us the letting agent's statements, mortgage interest statements and receipts for repairs, and we'll sort out what's claimable and what isn't. Repairs and improvements are treated differently, and that's often where the questions are.
If Making Tax Digital applies to you, we'll set up a simple routine so the quarterly updates are done without you having to learn new software.
Common questions
Landlord questions, answered.
If your rent is over £1,000 a year you need to tell HMRC. You'll need to file a Self Assessment return if your profit after expenses is £2,500 or more, or your rent before expenses is £10,000 or more. Below that, HMRC may be able to collect the tax through your tax code instead.
Replacing a worn kitchen with a similar one is generally a repair and can be claimed. Upgrading it to something substantially better, or fitting one where there wasn't one before, is usually capital and isn't deductible from rental income, though it may reduce Capital Gains Tax when you sell.
The rent is taxed like any other letting. The bigger issue comes when you sell: Private Residence Relief covers the years you lived there plus the final nine months, and the rest of any gain may be taxable. Keep good records of what you paid and spent on it.
It's sometimes worth it for higher-rate taxpayers with mortgages, but moving an existing property usually triggers Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty Land Tax, and you'd need new mortgages. It needs proper advice on the numbers, not a general rule.
Tax returns for landlords