Landlords failing to take advantage of tax breaks

Buy-to-let mortgage specialist Paragon is urging landlords to ensure they are fully tax efficient after research shows that many are failing to claim for the full range of tax allowances.

Landlords can offset many of the costs incurred through letting property against their income, but many are unaware of the full range of costs they can claim.

For example, Paragon's research shows that more than one in 10 landlords (13%) are not claiming for mortgage interest, despite it being a major cost for landlords. Meanwhile, a third of landlords don't claim management or letting agent fees, with 55% of landlords not claiming for advertising costs incurred in letting their property.

Paragon's Tax Guide (prepared in association with Perrys Chartered Accountants), which can be downloaded from paragon-mortgages.co.uk/, helps landlords from purchase through to sale and provides comprehensive information on income tax, limited companies and Capital Gains Tax, in addition to the list of tax reliefs available to landlords and top tax tips.

Nigel Terrington, Paragon Group Chief Executive, says: "Good tax planning is key. How landlords implement, manage and run their tax affairs could have a major impact on landlords' property investments and their overall performance.

"Tax is a complex area and we are confident that our Tax Guide will help landlords obtain a better grasp of tax matters. It's vital that landlords take advantage of the allowances open to them to maximise their return on investment."

Nigel Terrington adds: "I'm sure when landlords take all of these costs into consideration it could generate a significant saving on their tax bill."