Property Investment

If you're interested in reducing tax on your property investment/development activity you'll find plenty of opportunties in our articles and forums!

Property Investment How to avoid being a property trader for income tax purposes 22/03/2010 Given the rise in the top rate of income tax to 50%, it's even more beneficial to avoid being classed as a property trader for tax purposes, and instead be classed as a property investor. The 18% rate of CGT will make it much more tax efficient for most developers. In this article we look at the different factors to take into account to ensure you're a property investor . . . keep reading Reducing tax on property development by using a trust 15/03/2010 One possibility to reduce tax on property development is by using a trust. The general idea would be that you could save the 40% or 50% income tax charge you'd be subject to if you did the development in your own name by using a trust. The trust could be subject to income tax at the basic rate of 20%. There could therefore be a significant tax saving. . . . keep reading Qualifying for rollover relief on capital gains on investment properties that are compulsory purchased 28/12/2009 It's well known there's a rollover relief that allows capital gains on business assets to be deferred when you spend the proceeds on other business assets. However, what's less well known is that there are provisions allowing capital gains on investment properties that are compulsory purchased to be deferred. This article looks in detail at this special form of rollover relief and how to ensure you meet the qualifying conditions . . . keep reading Maximising tax relief on the purchase of business premises 13/11/2009 Given the substantial costs in purchasing business property, maximising your tax relief for the expenditure you incur is essential. Following a request from a member in this article we look at maximising tax relief on the purchase of business property. . . . keep reading Should you sell UK property as a non resident or after you return to the UK? 11/05/2009 If you're non UK resident and considering a return to the UK at some point in the future you may be evaluating whether you should sell UK property before or after a return to the UK. In this article we look at the tax rules for a disposal both before and after a return to the UK and assess when you should sell to minimise tax . . . keep reading How property traders can get tax relief for the drop in property prices without selling 14/09/2009 Property traders and investors can get tax relief for the drop in property prices when they sell. If they're traders they'd incur a trading loss and if investors they'd incur a capital loss. These losses can be offset against other income or capital gains dependent on the type of loss incurred. But what about if the property isn't sold? Is there any way that tax relief can be obtained for an 'unrealised' loss? . . . keep reading Maximising private lettings relief to reduce CGT 04/09/2009 Lettings relief is not as well known as principal private residence relief, however where it applies it can be very effective in further reducing your capital gains tax charge. This article looks at how lettings relief operates as well as how to maximise the amount of lettings relief to reduce your capital gains tax . . . keep reading Transferring a UK property to an offshore company & UK tax 10/08/2009 This is a common question that we've been asked time and time again. It usually goes something like this: I want to transfer a UK property from my name to an offshore company that I own, will this be exempt from stamp duty and CGT given I propose transferring it for nil consideration? In this article we consider the UK tax implications . . . keep reading How MP's avoid CGT on their second homes The newspapers have been full of the shenanigans of MP's over the last few weeks. One of the related stories that did emerge was how one senior MP avoid capital gains tax of £13,000 on a second home. In this article we look at how MP's avoid CGT on their second homes . . . keep reading Should property developers use a separate company for each development? 05/08/2009 Some of the big name property developers use separate companies for each property development. In this article we look at whether this is beneficial in terms of reducing your tax UK taxes. |Image1| . . . keep reading Investing in commercial property tax efficiently 19/06/2009 Investing in commercial property is still popular, even given the current economic climate. In this article we look at the income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax implications of investing in commercial property . . . keep reading The changes to the tax treatment of furnished holiday lettings from 2010 and what these mean for you 28/04/2009 The 2009 Budget announced a number of tax changes to the furnished holiday letting rules. This article looks at exactly what the changes are and what they mean for you . . . keep reading Reducing CGT, IHT and income tax on a property investment portfolio by using mortgages 06/03/2009 Although the property prices have reduced significantly in the last few months many buy to let ('BTL') landlords will still be faced with a large potential inheritance tax charge given the value of their BTL portfolios. This article looks at the use of debt to get a 'triple whammy' and reduce inheritance tax, capital gains tax and income tax . . . keep reading Calculating your interest deduction on buy to lets when there's an overdrawn capital account 26/01/2009 The general rule is that you are entitled to an income tax deduction for any interest that you incur 'wholly & exclusively' for the purposes of the rental business. However where you have an overdrawn capital account with your rental business (eg you've remortgaged to access equity) you could find your interest deduction restricted. This article looks at when and how this could happen including examples showing how to calculate the potential restriction . . . keep reading Case study:Avoiding inheritance tax and capital gains tax on property 21/01/2009 Making use of the available inheritance tax ('IHT') and capital gains tax reliefs is crucial in avoiding or reducing tax.This article looks at a simple case study showing how by maximising the benefit of the interaction from CGT and IHT reliefs you can completely avoid inheritance tax and future capital gains tax . . . keep reading Loss on sale of land & UK tax 14/01/2009 With the reducing property prices there will be many properties sold at a loss. Usually this would generate a capital loss for tax purposes, however it's worthwhile noting that there is a special relief available to reduce any previous inheritance tax charge. This article looks at how this relief operates . . . keep reading Rental losses and using a property company to reduce income tax & CGT 12/01/2009 Using a company to hold property is usually not tax efficient, at least not in terms of any capital gains. The flat 18% rate of CGT is much better than a 21/22%+ rate of corporation tax combined with a potential 25% income tax charge on extraction. For larger gains the 29.75% effective rate of corporation tax on gains above £300K makes it even less attractive. This article looks at how property companies can be very effective in reducing tax when there are rental losses. . . . keep reading Beneficial ownership, receiving a share of the proceeds and reducing capital gains tax 29/12/2008 When looking at the capital gains tax position on the disposal of property, the beneficial interest can have a significant impact. CGT follows primarily the beneficial, as opposed to the legal interest. So the legal title holder is not necessarily the one subject to CGT on the disposal. Good examples of this are bare trustees and nominees. This article looks at ownership of property and tax planning from the splitting of beneficial and legal interests, particularly where there is to be a share of the proceeds of sale . . . keep reading The new loss relief rules for 2009 and property businesses 05/12/2008 The 2008 pre budget report introduced temporary loss relief rules to provide enhanced relief for tax losses in 2008/2009. This article looks at the operation of the new loss relief rules and in particular how they may apply to property businesses . . . keep reading Tax deduction rules for interest on a buy to let property - maximising your tax relief 17/11/2008 If you own a buy to let property minimising income tax on the rental income will no doubt be a key issue.The tax legislation states that you'll obtain a tax deduction for any interest you incur 'wholly & exclusively' for the purposes of the lettings business. Does this restriction still apply or is this being eroded by new Revenue practice in this area? . . . keep reading More property investment articles