HMRC Let Property Campaign: Landlord Disclosure Guide

Who the Let Property Campaign applies to

• Individual landlords letting residential property in the UK who have not declared rental income on their self-assessment tax returns
• Individual landlords letting overseas residential property who have not declared the overseas income on their UK tax returns
• Landlords who started letting after 5 April 2013 and have never registered for self-assessment
• The Campaign does NOT apply to companies (limited companies use the Corporate Disclosure Facility) or commercial property landlords

The three-stage disclosure process

• Step 1, Notify: register on HMRC's Let Property Campaign online notification form. This starts a 90-day clock for completing the full disclosure
• Step 2; Calculate: work out all undisclosed rental income, income tax owed, statutory interest from the original due date, and the appropriate penalty
• Step 3; Disclose and pay: submit the online disclosure form and make a single payment covering tax, interest, and penalty
• Once notified, HMRC will generally not open a compliance investigation while the disclosure is being prepared

Penalties and why coming forward first matters

• Unprompted disclosure (you contact HMRC first): penalty for careless omissions typically 0 to 30% of tax owed. Fully cooperative disclosures often attract the lower end
• Prompted disclosure (HMRC contacts you first): penalty floor increases to 15% for careless omissions and 35% for deliberate, higher and with less room to negotiate
• HMRC investigation: highest penalties and HMRC controls the process
• Interest on unpaid tax accrues from the original 31 January due date regardless of disclosure route, this element is unavoidable
• Time limits: innocent error 4 years, careless 6 years, deliberate 20 years