Invoices for work carried out on rental property‏

[landlord65]

I'm a private Landlord and own one property that I rent out through an agent.
The property is currently between lets and I've taken the opportunity to carry out renovation work.
Some of the renovation work comprises new facia/guttering and new radiators, for which I'll have invoices from contractors. The rest is maintenance work I'll carry out myself (decorating, gardening, limited plumbing, cleaning etc).
I'll offset as much of the expense against tax as I can, but won't have an invoice for work I carry out myself.
So, my question is: Can I produce an invoice to myself on a "Dayworks" basis (say materials at cost, plus my labour at say £15 per hour)?

As a Landlord, HMRC says I'm running a business (Sole Trader?) with income and expenses but makes no reference to the submission of invoices to ones-self. Thank for looking.

[Richlist]

The short answer is no you can't claim for your own time spent running your property business.....HMRC don't allow it.

What you can do is offset the costs of materials used.

If you think about it logically, there would be no advantage to you if you were allowed to claim for your time. Initially you would save tax by claiming it as a business expense but would then have to declare the income and be subject to personal taxation....so no advantage.

[landlord65]

Thanks Richlist - That makes sense as far as my time is concerned.

What I forgot to add to my post was claiming against tax for travelling mileage to the property (45p/mile), and utilities usage (Gas, Elec, Water and empty property Council Tax) whilst renovating it. Obviously the meters were read when the previous tenant vacated (died!) and they'll be read when the new tenant moves in. Council tax is payable by the Landlord at 50% for the first month the property is empty and 100% thereafter. Total expenses of mileage and utilities will be around £450.

[Richlist]

As this is a property that has been let immediately prior to the refurb/ maintenance work and presumably will be let once the work is finished then I believe your claim for utility costs during the void & mileage is entirely legitimate.

Have you considered claiming capital allowances for your car usage instead of mileage ? It might be worth comparing how much you can claim using each method.

[landlord65]

Yes, its been let since 2008 and this is the first break between tenants. Now it's been mostly renovated, new tenants will be moving in shortly. There's still some exterior work to do which won't affect them too much.

I've had a quick look at HMRC Capital Allowances. With an 11 year old car worth around £1000 and few trips to the property, I think claiming the mileage allowance against tax is more beneficial than CA. Other Capital Allowances in relation to the business (ie laptop, heating, lighting etc) would be difficult to separate from non-business use. Also, they'd be so small as to not be worth worrying about. Thanks again for your replies - most helpful.

[Richlist]

Capital expenses that include tools & equipment, computer, printer, mobile phones etc even with shared use between business and personal the are always worth claiming.

Use of your home as an office, even with one property, although amounts would be small should still be claimed if appropriate.