Stress-free taxes for Hosts on Airbnb

Did you know that there are a number of things that your Taxfix accountant can help you expense on your tax return?

• Mobile phone bill
• Work-related laptop
• Home rent and utilities
• Cleaning fees
• Repairs
• Bank and accountant fees
• Airbnb host fees

This depends on how much money you make through Airbnb.

• If you make less than £1000 annually on your holiday home, you will not have to pay tax on this.
• When you only rent out a room or area of your house (and live in the rest), you can make up to £7,500 annually before you’re liable to do a tax return.

• If you haven’t done your tax return on any income you earned between 6th April 2019 – 5th April 2020, don’t worry. The deadline for your tax return is 31st January 2021.
• If you haven’t done a tax return for previous years (ie. 2016-2017 or 2018-2019), you can still do these but you may need to pay a penalty fee.

Take a look at our Rental Income and Late Payment calculators here.

As long as you also live there, you can actually claim the first £7,500 as a flat tax relief.

It’s called the Rent-a-Room Scheme, and it’s one of the best tax reliefs landlords can get.

If you earn under £7,500 from rent, you don’t even need to declare it or submit a Self Assessment tax return.

Again, the only condition is that you also live at the property.

Read more about the Rent-a-Room Scheme here.

Anything can be claimed as long as it relates directly to renting or maintaining the property:

• agent fees, accountant fees, legal fees
• rent (if you’re subletting), cleaning
• most utilities

Three important things to keep in mind:

• if your expenses are less than £1,000, don’t worry about receipts – just claim this flat £1,000 property allowance instead. Couples each get £1,000, so it’s double if you’re renting out a jointly owned property
• if you made a rental loss last year (for example, couldn’t find a tenant), you can also claim it this year. It’s called “carrying forward a loss”
• for anything that improves the value of the property (adding a patio, etc.), you can only claim them against your capital gains tax bill when you sell your property

Read more in our guide to allowable property expenses here

The documents we require depend on why you need to do a Self Assessment.

If your only reason to file one is because you’ve gone over the £150,000 earnings threshold, and your only source of income is employment (PAYE), then we only need a P60 (sometimes a P45 as well), and any P11D forms you might have received from your employer.

However, if you already have an HMRC Online Services account, we can simply connect to it and simply pull your information from there. And, in case you’re wondering, we’re authorised by HMRC to do this.

For any other reasons to do a Self Assessment, we have a longer list of documents here.

There are many tax-free allowances in the UK:

• everyone in the UK is entitled to £12,500 tax-free income – this is called the Personal Allowance
• if you made any capital gains (sold shares, property, etc.), the first £12,000 is tax-free
• first £2,000 from dividends is also tax-free
• same with the first £5,000 from savings interest (although it can be less – it depends on your tax band)

There are also a few tax-free allowances you can claim instead of expenses:

• you can claim £7,500 if you rent out a room from your own home
• you can also claim £1,000 if you are self-employed or a landlord
• if you earn under these amounts you don’t even need to declare them

You can see a full list of tax-free allowances here

Your UTR number is a Unique Taxpayer Reference that you get when you register for Self Assessment.

It consists of 10 digits (sometimes with a letter K at the end) and is issued to you by HMRC.

Check out our guide to getting a UTR.

The one-off cost covers your Self Assessment being prepared and filed by an accredited accountant, VAT included. If anything extra comes up, we’ll let you know.

Most people don’t. If extra work is needed, we’ll always be upfront so nothing comes as a surprise.

You get a 30 minute phone or video call with your accredited accountant. They’ll then provide you with a written summary of your call, plus any follow up actions which will be available in your Taxfix online account.

We cover the vast majority of our clients within our service fee. However, as with any service, there are a few exceptions that require extra support – including (but not limited to) multi-year pension tapering, large volumes of bookkeeping, or complex capital gain calculations.

If we realise you need more advanced help, we will explain why and give you the option to proceed at a higher fee or discuss a refund if you decide not to continue.

You can find a more detailed breakdown of what’s in and out of scope in our service document here: What’s included in our tax return service?

This service is for filing your return. If you want tailored tax advice, you can book a one-off consultation with an accredited accountant.

Yes, it’s official! TaxScouts is now Taxfix.

Over a year ago, we joined forces with one common goal: to simplify taxes across Europe. Now, we’ve taken the next step by bringing our services together under one single brand – Taxfix.

Nothing’s changing for you. You’ll continue to enjoy the same fast, simple, and reliable tax service you already know and trust. The only difference is that you now get it with the added innovation, technology, and support of Taxfix – Europe’s leading digital tax platform.

In short: we’re the same team, with the same dedication, but now united under one stronger brand to give you even more support.