alig31 Posted December 4, 2006 Report Share Posted December 4, 2006 Hi all, I am a landlord who works out of the area and let my property privately. Can I claim for travel costs to my property for inspections and repairs and if so, how many times can I claim for per year on my tax return best regards AliG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plym77 Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Hi ya Travel Expenses for rental property business are not a favourite of HM Revenue and Customs and in most cases I would not claim travel for clients with rental proprties - it is a grey area and whether you can claim will depend on the level of involvement you have with the property. There is no set level If you were to claim them, then you can only do that if there is no duality of purpose (ie. visiting family, freinds etc) and the sole reason you are travelling is to inspect the property or carry out repairs. Claim them at 40p per mile (for the first 10,000 miles - this could be relevant if you claim mileage for your work for example - if you go over 10,000 miles at work, anything over that is 25p per mile) - which is HMRC's rate. But make sure you keep detailed records of the mileage and the purpose of the trip (if it is an inspection, it may be as well to have some paper evidence... a letter to the tenant stating when the inspection will take place, for example) - so that you can defend the claim if queried by HMRC. I hope this helps Regards Sherena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Hi Sherena, This topic applies to me also. I live in Brighton and rent out a property in Reading. I come down by train and have kept all tickets assuming I could just offset these expenses. I have been refurbishing the property and i think the costs will be around £400 so far. The tickets are about £20 return, but if I charge Mileage, say 80 miles each way I can reclaim £64? Thanks, Mat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plym77 Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Unfortunately not. If you have not been using the car, then you can't claim mileage - the 40p per mile is high as it is supposed to cover motor expenses and wear and tear of the car. if you have not been using the car, you have not paid petrol for the business or caused 'wear and tear' to the car. So to clarify therefore, when I say claim 40p per mile, that is if you use your own car... if you go by train, the travel costs are the tickets I hope this clarifies the issue Regards Sherena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmm Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Hi all, I am a landlord who works out of the area and let my property privately. Can I claim for travel costs to my property for inspections and repairs and if so, how many times can I claim for per year on my tax return best regards AliG Iv just bought 2 new flats but they dont come with flooring - when i put the flooring down is this claimable? Also how about the yearly grd rent & service charge as these are my 1st flats renting out Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plym77 Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Hi Dmm apologies for the delay - I've been away over Christmas Firstly, Ground Rent and Service Charges - these can be claimed against your rental income and are fully deductible expenses. The flooring is a bit of a grey area. If for example you were replacing a carpet then this would be a deductible expense, however, I am not sure what you mean by the fact that there is no flooring. If you bought the property and it needed a refurb, and the flooring is 'an improvement' of sorts then this would be a capital deduction and as such would be deductible when you eventually sell the property, however, if it is just redecoration then this would be a renevue expense and deductible agains rental income. To help you I would need to know more Regards Sherena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmm Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 What i mean is the units im buying are left with a screed floor & its up to me to lay the carpet - this could be treated as a purchase cost i suppose & not deductable like the costs to buy - thats the case im faced with but in another situation if the flooring was laid & i didnt like it & took it up and laid a new floor covering would this be deemed refurbishment & therefore deductable!! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plym77 Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 I would suggest in your case that laying of carpets without any i the first place should be capital, and taken in to account at the end on sale If you replace the flooring (for example, it is damaged, worn or subject to redecoration) I would ordinarily allow this as expenditure, providing it is like for like - for example carpet for carpet, but if there is an upgrade, ie. cheap carpet to expensive wooden flooring i would say this is capital In reality there is no definitive answer - repairs and maintenance is a very grey area and the guidance is not clearly set out. I hope this helps Regards Sherena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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