https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/ Plain-English property tax guidance for developers and investors in the North West of England. en-gb Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/pool-house-annexe-separate-dwelling-tribunal-mdr/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/pool-house-annexe-separate-dwelling-tribunal-mdr/ Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 SDLT Planning A tribunal refused multiple dwellings relief on a pool house 200 feet from the main house. What the shared pool decided, and what it means for annexe claims. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/new-build-for-sale-scheme-tax-worked-example/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/new-build-for-sale-scheme-tax-worked-example/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Practical Insight Worked example: the SDLT, VAT and corporation tax on an eight-house new build scheme for sale, and the two things that change the result for a North West SPV. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/development-company-trading-loss-carry-back-corporation-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/development-company-trading-loss-carry-back-corporation-tax/ Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Structure & SPVs A scheme that loses money can often recover corporation tax already paid. How the 12-month carry back, terminal loss relief on cessation and group relief work for a development company. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/office-to-residential-conversion-tax-worked-example/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/office-to-residential-conversion-tax-worked-example/ Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Practical Insight A worked office-to-flats scheme with invented figures: SDLT at non-residential rates, the VAT1614D before exchange, 5% VAT on the works, zero-rated flat sales and corporation tax on the profit. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/national-insurance-rental-income-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/national-insurance-rental-income-landlords/ Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Rental profit isn't earnings, so most landlords never pay Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance on it. Why that's good news for your tax bill and bad news for your State Pension. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/foreign-income-gains-regime-non-dom-property-investors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/foreign-income-gains-regime-non-dom-property-investors/ Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Non-Dom & International Tax The remittance basis was abolished from 6 April 2025 and replaced by the FIG regime. What actually changed for a new resident buying UK property, and what was never sheltered in the first place. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/iht-business-property-relief-furnished-holiday-lets/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/iht-business-property-relief-furnished-holiday-lets/ Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax Owning a furnished holiday let doesn't mean HMRC will treat it as a trading business when you die. Why the relief has always been harder to win than owners assume, and why 2025 made it harder still. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/self-assessment-payments-on-account-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/self-assessment-payments-on-account-landlords/ Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Self Assessment The first year a landlord's Self Assessment bill tips over £1,000, HMRC collects half of next year's bill on top of what's owed. Why the January payment looks one and a half times too big, and it isn't a mistake. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/personal-allowance-taper-60-percent-tax-trap-property-investors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/personal-allowance-taper-60-percent-tax-trap-property-investors/ Sat, 19 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Between £100,000 and £125,140, the personal allowance disappears at £1 for every £2 earned, creating an effective 60% tax rate. Why rental profit pushes property investors straight into it. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-first-time-buyer-relief-property-investors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-first-time-buyer-relief-property-investors/ Sat, 19 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax An inherited share, a joint buyer who owned property years ago, or simply buying to let rather than to live in, any one of these kills first-time buyer's relief outright. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/rent-a-room-scheme-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/rent-a-room-scheme-landlords/ Fri, 18 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Up to £7,500 a year tax-free for letting a furnished room in your own home, but joint owners often only get £3,750 each, and it never applies through a company. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-flat-rate-scheme-construction-reverse-charge/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-flat-rate-scheme-construction-reverse-charge/ Fri, 18 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 CIS & Construction VAT Reverse-charged sales are excluded from flat rate turnover, so for most subcontractors the scheme has quietly stopped paying for itself since the reverse charge began. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/hmrc-points-based-penalty-regime-vat-mtd-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/hmrc-points-based-penalty-regime-vat-mtd-landlords/ Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Making Tax Digital Points and a £200 fixed penalty for late filing are only half the story. The late payment penalty runs on a completely separate clock, and it's usually the bigger bill. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/iht-gifts-out-of-income-exemption-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/iht-gifts-out-of-income-exemption-landlords/ Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax Surplus rental profit or dividends can be gifted free of Inheritance Tax immediately, with no £3,000 cap and no seven-year wait, provided the pattern and the records are there to prove it. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/full-expensing-first-year-allowance-property-development-companies/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/full-expensing-first-year-allowance-property-development-companies/ Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Allowances Full expensing gives a property development company a 100% first-year deduction on new plant and machinery with no cap. The catch: sell the asset later and the whole sale price is taxed straight back as a balancing charge. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/automatic-enrolment-workplace-pension-property-company-employers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/automatic-enrolment-workplace-pension-property-company-employers/ Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax A director-only property SPV is exempt from automatic enrolment. The moment it takes on a site manager, PA or bookkeeper, workplace pension duties start from their first day — with real penalties for getting it wrong. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/companies-house-accounts-filing-reform-property-spvs/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/companies-house-accounts-filing-reform-property-spvs/ Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures From 1 April 2028, Companies House closes web and paper filing, scraps abridged accounts, and requires small companies and micro-entities to file a profit and loss account. What property SPV directors need to know, including the new opt-out from public disclosure. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/trivial-benefits-staff-entertaining-property-company-directors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/trivial-benefits-staff-entertaining-property-company-directors/ Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax Trivial benefits let a property company give a director up to £300 a year, and any employee unlimited small gifts, with no Income Tax, National Insurance or P11D reporting at all. How the £50 rule and the £150 annual event exemption actually work. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/discretionary-trust-ten-year-periodic-charge-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/discretionary-trust-ten-year-periodic-charge-property/ Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax Discretionary trusts holding property face a periodic charge of up to 6% every ten years and an exit charge whenever capital leaves, quietly running alongside the trust long after it was set up. How the charges are calculated and what a trustee needs to budget for. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/pension-annual-allowance-tapering-property-company-directors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/pension-annual-allowance-tapering-property-company-directors/ Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax Employer pension contributions let a property company director extract profit with no Income Tax or National Insurance, but the £60,000 annual allowance tapers to as low as £10,000 for high earners. How the taper works and what still gets through it. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/companies-house-identity-verification-property-spv-directors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/companies-house-identity-verification-property-spv-directors/ Sun, 13 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures Companies House identity verification is now compulsory for directors and PSCs, phased in through each company's confirmation statement. What property SPV directors running several companies actually need to do, and by when. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/electric-company-car-benefit-in-kind-rates/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/electric-company-car-benefit-in-kind-rates/ Sun, 13 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax The electric company car benefit-in-kind rate is 4% for 2026/27, rising to 5%, 7% and 9% by 2029/30. What that costs a property company director in personal tax and Class 1A NIC, and why it still beats petrol by a wide margin. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/dividend-tax-rate-rise-2026-property-company-directors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/dividend-tax-rate-rise-2026-property-company-directors/ Sat, 12 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures From April 2026, dividend tax rates rise to 10.75% and 35.75%. What the increase actually costs a property company director extracting profit, and whether it changes the case for trading through a company. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/savings-income-tax-rate-rise-2027-property-investors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/savings-income-tax-rate-rise-2027-property-investors/ Sat, 12 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax From April 2027, tax on savings income rises by 2 percentage points to 22%, 42% and 47%. What it means for interest on directors' loan accounts, bridging finance and cash held between property deals. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/living-accommodation-benefit-in-kind-property-directors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/living-accommodation-benefit-in-kind-property-directors/ Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax Why a director living in a property their own company owns or rents, even one originally bought to let, can trigger an annual living accommodation benefit-in-kind charge, and how the £75,000 cost threshold adds a second, much larger one. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/beneficial-loan-benefit-in-kind-directors-loan/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/beneficial-loan-benefit-in-kind-directors-loan/ Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax Why an interest-free or cheap loan of more than £10,000 from a property company to its director is a personal benefit-in-kind charge on top of the company's own Section 455 tax, and how to avoid paying both. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/close-investment-holding-company-property-investors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/close-investment-holding-company-property-investors/ Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Corporation Tax Why a property company that stops letting to unconnected tenants, sits on cash, or holds an investment let to a connected person can lose the 19% small profits rate and pay 25% Corporation Tax on every pound of profit. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/shared-ownership-staircasing-sdlt/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/shared-ownership-staircasing-sdlt/ Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax How SDLT applies when a shared ownership leaseholder staircases to a bigger share, why the market value election at first purchase avoids repeat SDLT bills, the 80% threshold, and the surcharge relief most buyers don't know exists. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/salary-sacrifice-pension-nic-cap-2029/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/salary-sacrifice-pension-nic-cap-2029/ Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax From April 2029, salary sacrificed pension contributions above £2,000 a year lose their National Insurance exemption. What it means for property companies running staff pension schemes and directors sacrificing bonus into pension. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/double-cab-pickup-benefit-in-kind-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/double-cab-pickup-benefit-in-kind-tax/ Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax Since 6 April 2025, double cab pickups with a payload of one tonne or more are treated as cars, not vans, for benefit-in-kind and capital allowances purposes. What it costs a property developer running site trucks through the company. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/high-value-council-tax-surcharge-mansion-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/high-value-council-tax-surcharge-mansion-tax/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Business Rates & Council Tax From April 2028, English homes worth more than £2 million face a new banded surcharge of £2,500 to £7,500 a year on top of council tax, expected to be collected by HMRC after a fresh valuation exercise. Worth pricing in now if you're building or holding at the top of the market. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/property-income-tax-rate-rise-2027/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/property-income-tax-rate-rise-2027/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Income tax on rental profits rises by 2p across every band from 6 April 2027. The Section 24 finance cost tax reducer rises in step, and companies remain entirely unaffected — here's what actually changes for landlords. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/payrolling-benefits-in-kind-property-company-directors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/payrolling-benefits-in-kind-property-company-directors/ Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax From April 2027, HMRC is making real-time payrolling of most benefits in kind mandatory, ending the P11D wait for company cars, health cover and cheap director's loans. Why loans and accommodation are the awkward cases, and how to get ahead of the mandate by payrolling voluntarily now. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/employer-national-insurance-employment-allowance-property-companies/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/employer-national-insurance-employment-allowance-property-companies/ Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax Employer National Insurance rose from 13.8% to 15% on 6 April 2025 and the secondary threshold fell to £5,000. The bigger £10,500 Employment Allowance sounds like an offset, but a single-director property SPV with no other staff on payroll can't claim it at all. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/emi-share-options-property-development-companies/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/emi-share-options-property-development-companies/ Sun, 06 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures Property development is a specifically excluded activity for EMI share options, so most development companies can't use the scheme at all, regardless of size. What the excluded activities rule actually says, why HMRC draws the line there, and what works instead — CSOP, growth shares and unapproved options. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/apprenticeship-levy-construction-property-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/apprenticeship-levy-construction-property-developers/ Sun, 06 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax Once a developer or contractor's PAYE pay bill passes £3 million, the Apprenticeship Levy becomes a real monthly cost. How the 0.5% charge and £15,000 allowance work, why CIS subcontractors don't count toward the pay bill the way employed site staff do, and why unused funds expire after 24 months. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/umbrella-company-agency-paye-rules-property-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/umbrella-company-agency-paye-rules-property-developers/ Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax Since 6 April 2026, the recruitment agency supplying a worker (or the developer itself, if there's no agency in the chain) is the deemed employer for PAYE and NIC on umbrella company pay. What changed, why it happened, and the due diligence property developers now need on every agency and umbrella company they use. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/hmo-licensing-costs-article-4-tax-treatment-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/hmo-licensing-costs-article-4-tax-treatment-landlords/ Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax HMO licence renewals are a straightforward deduction against rental income. The planning permission needed to convert a house into an HMO in an Article 4 area isn't, and civil penalties for running one unlicensed aren't deductible at all. What's revenue, what's capital, and what HMRC won't let you claim. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/ir35-off-payroll-working-property-development/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/ir35-off-payroll-working-property-development/ Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Employment Tax Being paid under the Construction Industry Scheme says nothing about IR35. Property development companies engaging project managers, quantity surveyors and site managers through personal service companies face a separate employment status test, with the developer on the hook if it's wrong. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/digital-platform-reporting-rules-landlords-airbnb/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/digital-platform-reporting-rules-landlords-airbnb/ Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 HMRC Enquiries Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo now report host earnings and property addresses straight to HMRC every year under the digital platform reporting rules. What data actually gets sent, why there's no small-landlord exemption for property rental, and what to do if past income was never declared. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-partnership-property-transfers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-partnership-property-transfers/ Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Moving a rental portfolio into a family partnership feels like a paperwork exercise, not a taxable event. Schedule 15 FA 2003 says otherwise, and the SDLT bill depends entirely on who owned what before and who holds what share after. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-gains-tax-garden-land-sale-development/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-gains-tax-garden-land-sale-development/ Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax Selling part of the garden to a developer feels like selling your own home, but HMRC doesn't always agree. The permitted area, connected-party pricing and trading risk can turn a tax-free gain into a real CGT bill. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/bridging-development-finance-interest-tax-deductibility/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/bridging-development-finance-interest-tax-deductibility/ Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Development Tax Bridging and development finance interest doesn't get one tax treatment. Whether it's deductible now, capitalised into cost, or restricted under Section 24 depends entirely on who's borrowing and why. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-bad-debt-relief-commercial-rent/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-bad-debt-relief-commercial-rent/ Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT Commercial landlords who've opted to tax pay VAT to HMRC on rent whether or not the tenant ever pays it. VAT bad debt relief gets that money back, but only within a strict, time-limited window most landlords don't track. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/right-to-manage-companies-corporation-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/right-to-manage-companies-corporation-tax/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Corporation Tax Directors of Right to Manage companies often assume mutual trading means no corporation tax, ever. It doesn't, it only shields contributions from fellow leaseholders. Reserve fund interest, insurance commission and non-member income are usually taxable. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cladding-fire-safety-remediation-tax-treatment/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cladding-fire-safety-remediation-tax-treatment/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Is cladding replacement a repair, deductible now, or an improvement added to the capital cost? The answer turns on what the works restore versus what they add, and Building Safety Fund grants received back can be taxable too. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/rent-to-rent-tax-treatment/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/rent-to-rent-tax-treatment/ Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Rent-to-rent operators are often sold the model as a tax loophole. It isn't one, it's usually just a trade, taxed as a trade, with its own rules on loss relief, VAT registration and whether Section 24 even applies to you at all. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-service-charges-recharged-costs-commercial-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-service-charges-recharged-costs-commercial-property/ Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT A service charge usually takes on the VAT liability of the rent it sits alongside, not the liability of what it actually buys. Why insurance rent and utility recharges are rarely exempt, and the partial exemption trap in mixed buildings. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/renters-rights-act-landlord-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/renters-rights-act-landlord-tax/ Sun, 30 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax The Renters' Rights Act changes how landlords let property, but it also raises real tax questions: is compliance spend revenue or capital, what does capped rent-in-advance do to cash basis timing, and who carries the cost of longer voids. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/high-income-child-benefit-charge-property-income/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/high-income-child-benefit-charge-property-income/ Sun, 30 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Rental profit counts in full towards the income that triggers the High Income Child Benefit Charge, even though mortgage interest is only ever relieved as a tax reducer. Why landlords get caught out, and what actually helps. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/iht-related-property-rules-jointly-owned-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/iht-related-property-rules-jointly-owned-property/ Sat, 29 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax The related property rules in Section 161 IHTA 1984 can wipe out the co-ownership discount you'd expect on a jointly held property, and they hit married couples hardest. How the rule works, and when relief is available. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/uk-reit-regime-property-portfolios/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/uk-reit-regime-property-portfolios/ Sat, 29 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures UK REIT status removes corporation tax from a qualifying property rental business in exchange for distributing 90% of profits. How the regime actually works, what it takes to qualify, and why it rarely suits a family-run portfolio. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/retention-payments-construction-contracts-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/retention-payments-construction-contracts-tax/ Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Development Tax Retention money withheld until practical completion or the end of the defects period is usually taxed long before it's paid to you. Why the accounting treatment of construction contracts drives your Corporation Tax bill, what the VAT rules do differently, and where CIS fits in. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/rent-arrears-bad-debt-relief-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/rent-arrears-bad-debt-relief-landlords/ Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax A tenant who stops paying doesn't automatically stop you owing tax on that rent. Why the answer depends on whether you're taxed on a cash or accruals basis, when a specific bad debt deduction is available, and how VAT bad debt relief works separately on commercial rent. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/ct61-withholding-tax-property-company-interest/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/ct61-withholding-tax-property-company-interest/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Corporation Tax A property SPV paying interest to an overseas parent, JV partner or family lender can have a duty to withhold 20% tax at source and file a quarterly CT61 — even where a tax treaty would ultimately reduce it. Why this gets missed and what a direction actually does. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/pre-letting-expenses-property-business/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/pre-letting-expenses-property-business/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Costs incurred before your first tenant moves in aren't automatically lost. Why HMRC lets you claim revenue expenses from up to seven years before a letting business starts, what still counts as capital, and how to avoid losing the relief altogether. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/inheritance-tax-pensions-2027-property-investors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/inheritance-tax-pensions-2027-property-investors/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will count towards your estate for Inheritance Tax for the first time. Why that lands hardest on property investors who also hold SIPP or SSAS commercial property, and who actually has to report and pay it. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/business-rates-revaluation-2026-commercial-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/business-rates-revaluation-2026-commercial-property/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Business Rates The new rating list took effect on 1 April 2026 with a permanently lower multiplier for retail, hospitality and leisure and a higher one funding it above £500,000 rateable value. Why your bill might not match your new rateable value yet. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cgt-rebasing-march-1982-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cgt-rebasing-march-1982-property/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax Property held since before 1982 isn't taxed on the gain since the original purchase price. TCGA 1992 section 35 rebases the base cost to the 1982 market value instead, but the rule, and the valuation challenge behind it, works differently for individuals than for a family investment company. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/property-income-allowance-1000-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/property-income-allowance-1000-landlords/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax The £1,000 property allowance replaces actual expenses rather than adding to them, and electing to use it in a loss-making year can quietly forfeit a rental loss worth far more than £1,000 in future tax saved. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-section-75a-anti-avoidance-rule/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-section-75a-anti-avoidance-rule/ Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Section 75A lets HMRC treat a series of connected property transactions as one notional land transaction charged at the highest value reached along the way, and it applies without needing any tax avoidance motive. Why development structures built from options, sub-sales or related-party steps can trigger it. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/eis-deferral-relief-property-gains/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/eis-deferral-relief-property-gains/ Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax Selling an investment property or shares in a property company can crystallise a large CGT bill. EIS deferral relief lets that gain be parked, not eliminated, by reinvesting in an unconnected EIS-qualifying trading company within a three-year window, even though property development itself can never be the EIS target. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/compulsory-purchase-order-rollover-relief-cgt/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/compulsory-purchase-order-rollover-relief-cgt/ Sun, 23 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax A compulsory purchase order still creates a chargeable gain like any other land disposal. How TCGA 1992 sections 247 and 248 let a landowner roll that gain into replacement land bought within three years, deferring the tax rather than paying it up front, and where the relief stops reaching. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/business-investment-relief-non-dom-property-development/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/business-investment-relief-non-dom-property-development/ Sun, 23 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Non-Dom & International Tax Business Investment Relief lets a non-dom bring foreign income and gains into the UK tax-free, provided the money goes into a qualifying trading company such as a property development SPV. The remittance basis it depends on was abolished from 6 April 2025, but transitional rules keep BIR alive for pre-6 April 2025 funds until 5 April 2028. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/biodiversity-net-gain-tax-treatment-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/biodiversity-net-gain-tax-treatment-developers/ Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Planning & infrastructure charges Biodiversity net gain has been mandatory for most developments since February 2024. How the cost of on-site habitat, off-site units and statutory credits is taxed for a developer, why HMRC treats the sale of biodiversity units as standard-rated for VAT under Revenue and Customs Brief 8 (2024), and how a habitat bank operator's income is taxed on the other side of the deal. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-tax-point-staged-construction-payments/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-tax-point-staged-construction-payments/ Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT The basic tax point for construction services under section 6 VAT Act 1994 is the date the work is done, but the 14-day rule, an early invoice or payment, and a separate rule for retention money can all move it. Why the wrong tax point puts VAT in the wrong return period, and how retentions are treated differently from the main contract sum. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-market-value-rule-connected-company-transfers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-market-value-rule-connected-company-transfers/ Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Sell or gift property into a company you control and section 53 Finance Act 2003 charges SDLT on market value, not the price paid, even at £0 consideration. Why CGT incorporation relief under section 162 TCGA 1992 does nothing to stop it, why the 3% and 15% SDLT surcharges stack on top, and where partnership incorporation relief and group relief genuinely help. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/non-resident-company-uk-property-income-corporation-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/non-resident-company-uk-property-income-corporation-tax/ Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Non-Resident Landlords Since 6 April 2020, Finance Act 2019 charges a non-UK resident company's UK property income to Corporation Tax rather than the flat 20% income tax under the old Non-Resident Landlords Scheme rules. Why NRLS withholding still applies on top, why the loan relationship rules and corporate interest restriction change how finance costs are relieved, and why a CT600 filing obligation now replaces the old income tax return. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/freeport-investment-zone-tax-reliefs-property-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/freeport-investment-zone-tax-reliefs-property-developers/ Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Development Tax "Freeport" sounds like customs and shipping, so most developers assume it has nothing to do with them — but SDLT relief, a 100% first-year capital allowance, an enhanced 10% Structures and Buildings Allowance and a business rates holiday are all on the table within a designated tax site. Where the Liverpool City Region Freeport and Investment Zone tax sites actually sit, why Greater Manchester's Investment Zone carries no equivalent tax reliefs, and why relief only applies within the mapped site boundary, not the wider borough. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/mees-epc-c-2030-tax-treatment-landlord-upgrades/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/mees-epc-c-2030-tax-treatment-landlord-upgrades/ Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax The Warm Homes Plan, published 21 January 2026, sets a single EPC C deadline of 1 October 2030 for privately rented homes, with landlord spend capped at £10,000. That settles the compliance question, not the tax one: whether a like-for-like boiler swap or a new insulation install is a deductible repair or a capital improvement with no income tax relief at all, and why one MEES contractor invoice often needs splitting between the two. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/statutory-residence-test-property-investors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/statutory-residence-test-property-investors/ Wed, 19 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Non-Resident Landlords An overseas investor who flies in regularly to check on a development or sit down with contractors can, without meaning to, tip themselves into UK tax residence under the Statutory Residence Test introduced by Finance Act 2013 Schedule 45. How the automatic overseas and automatic UK tests work, the five connecting ties and the day-count bands that decide everyone left in between, and why a site inspection or a UK flat kept for visits can quietly trigger a work tie or accommodation tie. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/salaried-member-rules-llp-property-development/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/salaried-member-rules-llp-property-development/ Wed, 19 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures Since 6 April 2014, ITTOIA 2005 sections 863A to 863G have treated an LLP member as an employee for tax and National Insurance purposes if three conditions are all met: substantially fixed pay under Condition A, no significant influence over the LLP under Condition B, and capital contributed below 25% of expected pay under Condition C. Why property development joint ventures, which routinely pair a funding partner with an operating partner on a flat monthly draw, sit squarely in the pattern the rules target, and how JV agreements are restructured to break one of the three conditions. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/build-to-rent-sdlt-six-or-more-dwellings/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/build-to-rent-sdlt-six-or-more-dwellings/ Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Multiple dwellings relief was abolished for transactions with an effective date on or after 1 June 2024, taking the standard SDLT planning route away from Build to Rent investors. Why the old six-or-more dwellings rule in section 116(7) of the Finance Act 2003 survived untouched and now carries the whole SDLT case for BTR forward funding deals, the single-transaction test that decides whether it applies, and why the residential surcharges fall away once a purchase is taxed as non-residential. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-annexes-granny-flats-zero-rating/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-annexes-granny-flats-zero-rating/ Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT Building an annexe or granny flat can be zero-rated for VAT under Notice 708 as a building designed as a dwelling, but only if it is self-contained and can be used and disposed of entirely separately from the main house. Why a planning condition tying occupation or sale of the annexe to the main dwelling breaks the separate use and disposal test and turns a zero-rated job into a 20% VAT cost, however self-contained the building itself looks. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sale-and-leaseback-commercial-property-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sale-and-leaseback-commercial-property-tax/ Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures Selling a commercial building and leasing it straight back releases capital without giving up occupation, but the leaseback is a new lease in its own right for SDLT, chargeable on any premium and the net present value of the rent. Why the sale only escapes VAT if it qualifies as a transfer of a going concern, and how getting the buyer's option to tax notification wrong turns a clean deal into an unplanned 20% cash cost. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/structures-buildings-allowance-commercial-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/structures-buildings-allowance-commercial-property/ Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Allowances The Structures and Buildings Allowance gives 3% a year straight-line relief on the cost of constructing or renovating a commercial building under Capital Allowances Act 2001 Part 2A, but only the shell qualifies, not the fixtures, and no one can claim without a valid allowance statement. Why developers routinely under-claim it, and how the relief quietly reduces the capital gain calculated on eventual sale. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-capital-allowances-solar-heat-pumps-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-capital-allowances-solar-heat-pumps-landlords/ Sun, 16 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Allowances Solar panels, heat pumps and battery storage installed in residential accommodation qualify for VAT zero-rating under the energy-saving materials relief, while the same equipment on commercial buildings sits in the capital allowances special rate pool and usually qualifies for the Annual Investment Allowance. Why the dwelling-house rule blocks most individual landlords from claiming allowances, how EV chargepoints get their own 100% first-year allowance, and why the EPC C direction of travel makes retrofit timing a planning decision now rather than a last-minute compliance scramble. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/register-of-overseas-entities-uk-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/register-of-overseas-entities-uk-property/ Sun, 16 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Non-Resident Landlords Since the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 created the Register of Overseas Entities, an offshore company can't sell, lease for more than seven years, or grant a legal charge over UK land without a current Overseas Entity ID and independently verified beneficial ownership information filed at Companies House. Who counts as a registrable beneficial owner, the 14-day annual update statement deadline, and the Land Registry restriction that freezes a title the moment a structure falls out of compliance. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cash-basis-property-income-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cash-basis-property-income-landlords/ Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Since 2024/25, cash basis is the default way individual landlords work out their property profit, not accruals, and most never actively chose it. What cash basis actually changes about timing income and capital spend, the loan interest rule that quietly favours it, and the situations where electing back into accruals still makes sense. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-15-percent-flat-rate-companies-dwellings/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-15-percent-flat-rate-companies-dwellings/ Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax A company buying a single dwelling worth more than £500,000 can face a flat 15% SDLT charge under FA2003 Schedule 4A, regardless of how much of the purchase is mortgaged. Genuine property rental and development businesses can usually claim relief down to normal company rates, but the relief comes with a 3-year clawback if a connected person moves in. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-registration-property-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-registration-property-developers/ Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT Cross £90,000 of taxable turnover in any rolling 12 months and VAT registration becomes compulsory, but for most developers, waiting that long means losing input VAT on land, professional fees and build costs along the way. How voluntary intending-trader registration works, what pre-registration VAT can still be reclaimed, and the deregistration trap on unsold stock. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sipp-ssas-commercial-property-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sipp-ssas-commercial-property-developers/ Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures A SIPP or SSAS can buy commercial property outright, buy your own trading premises back from your company, and lend money back to that company, all inside a wrapper where rental income and capital growth are free of income tax and Capital Gains Tax. Why residential property is a trap, how sale-and-leaseback works, and the loanback conditions that catch people out. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/residence-nil-rate-band-downsizing-addition/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/residence-nil-rate-band-downsizing-addition/ Thu, 13 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax Sell the family home to downsize, move into care, or gift it before death, and the residence nil rate band it carried doesn't have to disappear with it. How the downsizing addition under IHTA 1984 sections 8FA-8FE claws it back, why the claim has to be made and isn't automatic, and where property clients trip on it. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/lease-premium-income-tax-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/lease-premium-income-tax-property/ Thu, 13 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Grant a lease of 50 years or less for a lump sum premium and, under ITTOIA 2005 section 277, part of it is taxed as property income in the year you receive it, not spread out or deferred. The formula, the section 278 trap for landlords who take building work instead of cash, and what a paying tenant can claim back. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/eis-seis-property-development-investment/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/eis-seis-property-development-investment/ Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Investment Property development, dealing in land and pure rental letting are excluded activities for EIS and SEIS relief under ITA 2007 section 192, and ordinary letting isn't a qualifying trade at all. Why the risk-to-capital condition closed down asset-backed workarounds, and what happens if relief already claimed is later withdrawn. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/trust-registration-service-property-trusts/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/trust-registration-service-property-trusts/ Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures A jointly owned home or buy-to-let is usually exempt from the Trust Registration Service under the co-ownership trust exclusion, until legal and beneficial ownership diverge — most commonly when a joint owner dies. What the changes taking effect from 30 June 2026 mean for co-ownership property trusts and deed of variation trusts, and HMRC's approach to penalties. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-allowances-second-hand-commercial-property-s198-election/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-allowances-second-hand-commercial-property-s198-election/ Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Allowances Buying a second-hand commercial building without fixing the fixtures' value by a joint section 198 election within two years means the capital allowances on those fixtures are lost for good, not just to the buyer but to every future owner too. The pooling requirement, the fixed value requirement, and why full expensing never applies to second-hand fixtures. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/gift-with-reservation-of-benefit-pre-owned-assets-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/gift-with-reservation-of-benefit-pre-owned-assets-tax/ Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax Gifting the family home to children while continuing to live in it rent-free doesn't start the seven-year clock under FA 1986 section 102 — the house stays inside the donor's estate for as long as the reservation of benefit continues. The full market rent carve-out that actually works, the shared-occupation exception, and when the pre-owned assets tax applies instead. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/employee-ownership-trusts-property-businesses/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/employee-ownership-trusts-property-businesses/ Mon, 10 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures Employee Ownership Trusts let an owner exit a business without finding a buyer, but the Autumn Budget 2025 halved the qualifying CGT relief from 100% to 50%, and most buy-to-let holding companies never met the trading company requirement in the first place. What still works for a genuine property development or construction trading business. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cgt-gifting-property-to-family-holdover-relief/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cgt-gifting-property-to-family-holdover-relief/ Mon, 10 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax A gift of property to a connected person is taxed under TCGA 1992 section 18(3) as if it sold at full market value regardless of what was actually paid. Why gift hold-over relief under section 165 rarely covers an ordinary rental property, when section 260 relief on a gift into trust can reach it instead, and the SDLT trap on a mortgaged gift. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/hybrid-partnership-structures-landlords-spotlight-63/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/hybrid-partnership-structures-landlords-spotlight-63/ Sun, 09 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax HMRC's Spotlight 63 and its 2026 follow-up, Spotlight 63a, both target the same idea: moving a lettings portfolio into an LLP with a corporate member and skewing the profit share to sidestep Section 24's mortgage interest restriction. Why HMRC says the mixed membership partnership rules unwind the arrangement anyway, and what it costs landlords who've already signed up. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/deed-of-variation-inherited-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/deed-of-variation-inherited-property/ Sun, 09 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax Where an estate has left an inherited property in a way that isn't tax-efficient, a deed of variation executed within two years of death can redirect it as if the deceased had left it that way from the start, under IHTA 1984 s.142 and TCGA 1992 s.62(6). What the deed can and can't achieve, the hard two-year deadline, and why HMRC still needs telling when it results in more tax. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/mvl-property-company-liquidation-taar/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/mvl-property-company-liquidation-taar/ Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures Winding up a property SPV through a Members' Voluntary Liquidation can turn retained profit into a capital gain taxed at Business Asset Disposal Relief rates instead of dividend income, but a targeted anti-avoidance rule reclassifies the distribution as income if the shareholder carries on a similar trade within two years. What the TAAR actually catches, and why serial developers are the people it's aimed at. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-sub-sale-assignment-of-contract/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-sub-sale-assignment-of-contract/ Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Assigning the benefit of a purchase contract to another buyer before completion normally lets SDLT be charged once, on the final buyer's price, under the transfer of rights rules. Take possession or start works on the strength of the original contract first, and that single charge can become two. How assignment actually works, and the substantial performance trap that catches developers flipping deals before completion. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/iht-offshore-structures-uk-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/iht-offshore-structures-uk-property/ Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax Holding UK residential property through an offshore company once kept it outside the Inheritance Tax net for non-doms. Schedule A1 closed that in 2017, and April 2025's move from domicile to residence has closed most of what was left. What the envelope still protects, and where it stopped working years ago. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-grouping-property-development-groups/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-grouping-property-development-groups/ Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT VAT grouping several development SPVs under one registration removes VAT from intra-group management charges and cuts the admin to a single return, but it also makes every member jointly liable for the group's VAT debt and can blend partial exemption recovery across companies that were never meant to share it. What actually happens when a property group VAT-groups, and when to leave a company out. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/basis-period-reform-property-trading/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/basis-period-reform-property-trading/ Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Development Tax Basis period reform pushed every unincorporated property trading business onto a tax-year basis from 2023/24, and the transition profit it created is still landing on tax returns years later. Who it actually catches, what happened to old overlap relief, and the spreading trap still running today. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-abortive-development-costs/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-abortive-development-costs/ Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT A planning refusal or a collapsed land deal doesn't automatically mean the VAT you've already reclaimed on architects, agents and surveyors has to be repaid. What HMRC actually looks at when a development never gets built, and the paper trail that decides whether abortive input VAT stays yours. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cgt-60-day-reporting-property-sales/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cgt-60-day-reporting-property-sales/ Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax A UK residential property sale with a taxable gain has to be reported to HMRC and the tax paid within 60 days of completion, not exchange, and non-residents have to report every disposal of UK land within the same window regardless of gain, loss or relief. How the deadline actually works, and the mistakes that trigger automatic penalties. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-mixed-use-new-build-apportionment/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-mixed-use-new-build-apportionment/ Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT A block of flats over a ground-floor shop isn't one VAT answer, it's two, split between zero-rated residential construction and standard-rated commercial space. How the apportionment between the two actually works, why the sale of the commercial unit is a separate question from the sale of the flats, and where developers lose input VAT they didn't expect to. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-linked-transactions-multiple-property-purchases/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-linked-transactions-multiple-property-purchases/ Tue, 04 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Buying several properties from the same seller, even across separate contracts and completion dates, can be a linked transaction for SDLT, taxed on the combined price, not each purchase separately. How the rules catch phased new-build purchases and portfolio deals, and why timing and paperwork don't break the link. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-self-supply-charge-new-build-rental/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-self-supply-charge-new-build-rental/ Tue, 04 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT A developer who builds zero-rated new dwellings to sell, then decides to keep and let them instead, doesn't escape VAT by not selling, the self-supply charge taxes the change of intention itself. How the charge is calculated, and what evidence protects a genuine change of plan. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/property-company-demerger-splitting-portfolio/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/property-company-demerger-splitting-portfolio/ Sun, 02 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures Siblings or business partners who built up a property portfolio in one company together often reach a point where they want to go separate ways without a forced sale. How a statutory demerger and a liquidation demerger split a property company tax-efficiently, the clearance process, and why SDLT is usually the trap that catches people out. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/agricultural-property-relief-development-land/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/agricultural-property-relief-development-land/ Sun, 02 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax Agricultural Property Relief only ever covers a field's agricultural value, never its development or hope value. How that gap opens up the moment a landowner talks to a developer, why holding land under an option can keep APR alive for longer than an outright sale, and how the relief interacts with the new £2.5 million BPR/APR cap. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-gains-tax-part-disposal-land-development/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-gains-tax-part-disposal-land-development/ Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax Selling a garden plot, paddock or field strip to a developer while keeping the rest of the land is a part disposal for CGT, taxed on a different basis to selling the whole asset. How the A/(A+B) apportionment formula works, when the small part disposals relief defers the gain instead, and where Private Residence Relief stops helping. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-subsidiary-dwelling-relief-annexes/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-subsidiary-dwelling-relief-annexes/ Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Multiple Dwellings Relief was abolished in June 2024, but a different relief for annexes and granny flats is still very much alive: subsidiary dwelling relief from the 5% SDLT surcharge. What it does, the one-third value test, and why it's routinely confused with the relief that no longer exists. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/student-accommodation-vat-relevant-residential-purpose/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/student-accommodation-vat-relevant-residential-purpose/ Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT Student accommodation is zero-rated through a different route to ordinary housing: the relevant residential purpose test. The certificate that has to be in place before completion, what counts as non-qualifying use, and the change of use clawback that can bite years later. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-capital-goods-scheme-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-capital-goods-scheme-property/ Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT Capital expenditure over £250,000 on land, buildings or civil engineering works pulls a property into the VAT Capital Goods Scheme, a ten-year standing obligation to keep testing how the building is used. What triggers an adjustment, and why a change of tenant years after completion can claw back VAT nobody budgeted for. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-commercial-property-leases/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-commercial-property-leases/ Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Commercial leases are taxed twice for SDLT: once on the premium, once on the net present value of the rent. How the NPV calculation works, why turnover rent needs a five-year review, and why VAT on rent can quietly increase the bill. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/second-homes-council-tax-premium/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/second-homes-council-tax-premium/ Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Business Rates & Council Tax Councils across England can now charge up to 100% extra council tax on furnished second homes. Who the premium actually catches, the exemptions that matter, and why it isn't the same test as the one that ended favourable FHL tax treatment. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-dilapidations-lease-surrenders-commercial-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-dilapidations-lease-surrenders-commercial-property/ Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT A dilapidations payment, a surrender premium and a reverse premium are not the same thing for VAT, and HMRC's own position on dilapidations has shifted more than once. Where the current line sits, and why the option to tax decision decides the answer. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/corporation-tax-group-relief-property-spvs/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/corporation-tax-group-relief-property-spvs/ Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Company Property Tax A loss sitting in one property SPV does nothing for a profitable sister company unless the group actively surrenders it. How the 75% group relief test works, what property business losses qualify, and why this is a completely different regime from SDLT group relief. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-partial-exemption-property-businesses/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-partial-exemption-property-businesses/ Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT A property business with both opted, taxable lettings and exempt, unopted lettings can't recover all its input VAT automatically. How the partial exemption standard method apportions residual VAT, the £625-a-month de minimis limit, and why the annual adjustment catches people out. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cis-deemed-contractor-property-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cis-deemed-contractor-property-developers/ Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 CIS Compliance A landlord, developer or housing association that spends more than £3 million on construction operations in a rolling 12-month period becomes a CIS deemed contractor, even though building isn't their business. What triggers it, how group spend is aggregated, and what registering actually involves. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/business-property-relief-cap-trading-property-businesses/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/business-property-relief-cap-trading-property-businesses/ Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax From 6 April 2026, 100% Business Property Relief is capped at £2.5 million and the allowance is transferable between spouses. What changed since the original £1m proposal, and why most rental portfolios are unaffected either way. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/substantial-shareholding-exemption-property-spv-sale/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/substantial-shareholding-exemption-property-spv-sale/ Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures A corporate seller can sometimes sell shares in a subsidiary completely free of tax under the Substantial Shareholdings Exemption. Most property SPVs fail the trading test that makes this work — here's why, and where it genuinely applies. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/togc-vat-free-sale-tenanted-commercial-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/togc-vat-free-sale-tenanted-commercial-property/ Sun, 26 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT Selling an opted commercial property with sitting tenants can be treated as a VAT-free transfer of a going concern, but the buyer's option to tax has to be in place and notified before completion. How TOGC works, and where it fails. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/serviced-accommodation-vat-business-rates/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/serviced-accommodation-vat-business-rates/ Sun, 26 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Furnished Holiday Lets Holiday lets and serviced accommodation are VAT-standard-rated like a hotel room, not exempt like a normal letting, and business rates now depend on actually letting a property 70 days a year, not just intending to. What owners get wrong. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/non-resident-capital-gains-tax-uk-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/non-resident-capital-gains-tax-uk-property/ Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax Non-residents pay UK CGT on residential property since 2015, and on commercial property and property-rich company shares since 2019. The 60-day return, rebasing to April 2015 or 2019, and how it sits alongside the SDLT surcharge and rental income rules. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-diy-housebuilder-scheme/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-diy-housebuilder-scheme/ Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT Self-builders and barn converters can reclaim VAT on materials from HMRC even without being VAT registered. How the DIY Housebuilders Scheme works, what qualifies, and why the six-month claim deadline catches people out. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/principal-private-residence-relief-property-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/principal-private-residence-relief-property-developers/ Fri, 24 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax Living in a property you renovate does not automatically make the gain tax-free. How Principal Private Residence Relief, the nine-month final exemption and Higgins v HMRC actually work, and why HMRC denies the relief entirely once a sale looks like a trade. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sideways-loss-relief-property-trading/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sideways-loss-relief-property-trading/ Fri, 24 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Development Tax A loss-making first year of property development can generate a cash refund against your other income, but only if the activity is a genuine trade. How sideways loss relief, the £50,000/25% reliefs cap and the non-active partner restriction work. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/mixed-use-property-sdlt/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/mixed-use-property-sdlt/ Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Genuine mixed-use property pays SDLT at non-residential rates on the whole price, with no additional-dwelling or non-resident surcharge. How HMRC tests a mixed-use claim after Hyman, Goodfellow and Averdieck, and where developers and investors get it wrong. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-gains-tax-inherited-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-gains-tax-inherited-property/ Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax Inheriting a property resets its Capital Gains Tax base cost to probate value, but growth after that is taxed like any other gain. How rebasing, executors' allowances, joint beneficiaries and probate valuation disputes actually work. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/section-455-directors-loan-property-company/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/section-455-directors-loan-property-company/ Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Company Property Tax Leave a loan from your property company outstanding nine months after the year end and it triggers a 33.75% Corporation Tax charge. How Section 455, the refund mechanism and the bed-and-breakfasting anti-avoidance rule actually work. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/section-106-agreements-developer-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/section-106-agreements-developer-tax/ Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Planning & Infrastructure Charges Section 106 obligations are negotiated per site, not calculated by formula like CIL. How affordable housing and infrastructure contributions are treated as a cost of development for tax, the VAT position on transfers to registered providers, and how S106 sits alongside CIL. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-non-resident-surcharge/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-non-resident-surcharge/ Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Non-UK residents buying residential property in England or Northern Ireland pay an extra 2% SDLT surcharge on top of standard and additional-dwelling rates. How residence is tested, when the surcharges stack, and how to reclaim it. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/associated-companies-marginal-relief-property-spvs/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/associated-companies-marginal-relief-property-spvs/ Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Corporation Tax Running two or three property SPVs? The associated companies rule can quietly halve your access to the 19% small profits rate. How the test works, why it catches investors off guard, and what to do about it. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/rd-tax-relief-modern-methods-construction/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/rd-tax-relief-modern-methods-construction/ Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 R&D Tax Relief Offsite manufacture, novel structural systems and bespoke building physics work can qualify for R&D tax relief, but most property developers never claim. What genuinely counts, what doesn't, and the records HMRC expects. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/lease-extension-enfranchisement-cgt-sdlt/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/lease-extension-enfranchisement-cgt-sdlt/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Leasehold Property A lease extension premium is capital, not income, for the freeholder receiving it, and is not normally a disposal at all for the leaseholder paying it — but SDLT is still due on the premium, and enfranchisement is taxed differently again. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-group-relief-property-transfers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-group-relief-property-transfers/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 SDLT Group Relief Group relief removes SDLT on transfers between companies in a 75% group, but is withdrawn if the transferee leaves within three years, and denied outright if arrangements for that already existed at the time of transfer. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/residential-property-developer-tax-rpdt/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/residential-property-developer-tax-rpdt/ Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Residential Property Developer Tax RPDT charges 4% on UK residential development profits above a shared £25 million group allowance. Who counts as an RP developer, what falls outside the charge, and how the allowance splits across group companies. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/community-infrastructure-levy-cil-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/community-infrastructure-levy-cil-developers/ Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Community Infrastructure Levy CIL is charged per square metre of net additional floorspace, but the self-build, charitable and social housing reliefs that make it manageable all depend on paperwork filed before work starts on site. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/building-safety-levy-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/building-safety-levy-developers/ Sat, 18 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Building Safety Levy The Building Safety Levy goes live on 1 October 2026. How the charge is calculated per square metre, which local authority rate applies, the small sites and affordable housing exemptions, and how to avoid it on schemes already in the pipeline. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/option-promotion-agreements-landowner-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/option-promotion-agreements-landowner-tax/ Sat, 18 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Land Transactions A landowner granting an option or signing a promotion agreement with a developer faces different CGT timing, SDLT triggers and VAT treatment depending which route is used. How each structure is taxed, and where the traps sit. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/joint-venture-property-development-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/joint-venture-property-development-tax/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures LLP or limited company for a property development joint venture? How each vehicle taxes profit share, what SDLT is due when land goes in, and the mixed membership trap that catches corporate members. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/empty-property-business-rates-council-tax-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/empty-property-business-rates-council-tax-developers/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Business Rates & Council Tax Business rates on an empty commercial property, and council tax on an empty or uninhabitable home: what the void period actually covers, when the empty homes premium bites, and where relief still exists. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/permitted-development-conversion-sdlt-vat/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/permitted-development-conversion-sdlt-vat/ Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Development Tax Permitted development lets you skip full planning on office and barn-to-residential conversions, but the SDLT and VAT treatment follows different rules to a new build. What Class MA and Class Q actually change, and where developers lose money. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/golden-brick-vat-zero-rating-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/golden-brick-vat-zero-rating-developers/ Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT Selling land to a housing association before completion? A golden brick contract can secure VAT zero-rating on the sale and full input VAT recovery on build costs. How the timing works, and where it goes wrong. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/family-investment-companies-property-portfolio/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/family-investment-companies-property-portfolio/ Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax A family investment company can move future growth in a property portfolio outside your estate without the trust regime's IHT charges. How FICs are structured, what they actually shield from Inheritance Tax, and where they fall short. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/corporate-interest-restriction-property-companies/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/corporate-interest-restriction-property-companies/ Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Company Property Tax Geared property groups can lose Corporation Tax relief on interest they've actually paid once net interest crosses £2m. How the Corporate Interest Restriction's fixed ratio and group ratio methods work, and why related-party loans bring the threshold closer than developers expect. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-refund-uninhabitable-derelict-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-refund-uninhabitable-derelict-property/ Tue, 14 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax A property that is genuinely uninhabitable can be taxed as non-residential for SDLT, avoiding the higher rates and the surcharge. HMRC has narrowed the test hard since P N Bewley, here is where the line actually sits now. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/let-property-campaign-undeclared-rental-income/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/let-property-campaign-undeclared-rental-income/ Tue, 14 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 HMRC Enquiries HMRC's Let Property Campaign lets landlords disclose undeclared rental income on far better terms than waiting to be caught. How the campaign works, the penalty bands, and why data-matching means HMRC usually gets there eventually. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/multiple-dwellings-relief-sdlt/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/multiple-dwellings-relief-sdlt/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Multiple Dwellings Relief was abolished for transactions from 1 June 2024. What the relief used to do, why HMRC scrapped it, the transitional rules, and the six-or-more-dwellings rate that still applies to genuine bulk purchases. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/form-17-declaration-of-trust-rental-income/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/form-17-declaration-of-trust-rental-income/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Married couples and civil partners who jointly own a rental property are taxed 50:50 by default, regardless of who actually owns what. A declaration of trust and Form 17 election can change that, but only if you get the order of steps right. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cgt-property-transfers-divorce-separation/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cgt-property-transfers-divorce-separation/ Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax Separating spouses get up to three tax years to transfer property between them without a CGT charge, and transfers under a court order are exempt from SDLT, but timing decides which relief applies. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/repairs-vs-improvements-landlord-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/repairs-vs-improvements-landlord-tax/ Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax A repair is deductible against rental income the year it's paid for, an improvement isn't. HMRC's tests for the difference, the pre-purchase repairs trap, and Replacement of Domestic Items Relief. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/hmrc-enquiry-property-tax-return/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/hmrc-enquiry-property-tax-return/ Sat, 11 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 HMRC Enquiries Property sales, SDLT relief claims and rental income are among the most data-matched areas HMRC enquires into. What triggers a property tax enquiry, how the process works, and how to respond. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-reduced-rate-empty-property-renovation/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-reduced-rate-empty-property-renovation/ Sat, 11 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT Renovating an empty home, splitting a house into flats, or converting a non-residential building can qualify for 5% VAT instead of 20%, but only if the conditions and evidence are right before work starts. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/overage-clawback-agreements-tax/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/overage-clawback-agreements-tax/ Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Development Tax Overage lets a landowner share in a future planning uplift, but it creates two separate tax problems — when CGT is actually charged on the seller, and when SDLT falls due on the buyer. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/business-asset-disposal-relief-property-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/business-asset-disposal-relief-property-developers/ Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Development Tax BADR can tax a company sale at 18% instead of standard CGT rates, but a genuine development company has to pass tests an investment-heavy portfolio usually fails. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/extracting-profit-from-a-property-company/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/extracting-profit-from-a-property-company/ Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures You incorporated to escape Section 24, but the profit is now trapped in the company. Salary, dividends, directors' loans, pension contributions and MVL — how to get it out efficiently, and the traps in each route. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/land-remediation-relief-contaminated-sites/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/land-remediation-relief-contaminated-sites/ Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Development Tax A 150% Corporation Tax deduction on cleaning up contaminated or long-derelict land, plus a cash credit if the company is loss-making. Most eligible developers never claim it — what qualifies and the evidence HMRC expects. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/property-trading-vs-investment-badges-of-trade/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/property-trading-vs-investment-badges-of-trade/ Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Development Tax Sell a renovated property and HMRC may tax it as trading income, not a capital gain — no annual exemption, no CGT rate, and Class 4 NIC on top. The nine “badges of trade” that decide which side of the line you're on. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cis-gross-payment-status/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cis-gross-payment-status/ Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 CIS Compliance Gross payment status stops CIS tax being deducted at source, so subcontractors keep 100% of every payment instead of waiting a year for a refund. The turnover, business and compliance tests you need to pass — and how HMRC can take it away again. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/incorporation-relief-property-portfolio/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/incorporation-relief-property-portfolio/ Tue, 07 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures Incorporation relief can defer the Capital Gains Tax on moving a rental portfolio into a limited company — but only if HMRC accepts you are running a genuine property business. What qualifies, what it doesn't cover, and the SDLT trap most owners miss. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/inheritance-tax-planning-property-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/inheritance-tax-planning-property-landlords/ Tue, 07 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Inheritance Tax Rental property rarely qualifies for Business Property Relief, and gifting it in your lifetime usually triggers Capital Gains Tax with no CGT-IHT interaction to soften the blow. What actually reduces an Inheritance Tax bill on a property portfolio. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-allowances-commercial-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-allowances-commercial-property/ Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Allowances Every commercial property purchase splits into land, structure and fixtures for tax purposes. Why the Structures and Buildings Allowance, embedded fixtures and full expensing are usually worth far more than owners claim. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/non-resident-landlords-scheme/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/non-resident-landlords-scheme/ Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Non-Resident Landlords How the Non-Resident Landlords Scheme withholds tax on UK rental income, when to apply to receive rent gross, and the SDLT surcharge and CGT reporting rules that catch overseas investors off guard. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-domestic-reverse-charge-construction/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-domestic-reverse-charge-construction/ Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 CIS & Construction VAT Who the reverse charge applies to, the end user exclusion most businesses get wrong, and the cash-flow hit subcontractors feel once VAT is no longer collected on invoices. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/annual-tax-enveloped-dwellings/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/annual-tax-enveloped-dwellings/ Sun, 05 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Company Property Tax ATED catches companies holding residential property above £500,000 — including SPVs set up after Section 24. Thresholds, reliefs, deadlines, and the trap of a director living in a company-owned home. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/furnished-holiday-let-tax-changes/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/furnished-holiday-let-tax-changes/ Sat, 04 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Furnished Holiday Lets The FHL regime ended on 6 April 2025. What owners lost — mortgage interest relief, capital allowances, CGT reliefs and pension treatment — the transitional rules still worth checking, and what to do now. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/making-tax-digital-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/making-tax-digital-landlords/ Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Making Tax Digital MTD for Income Tax is now live for landlords over the £50,000 threshold, with £30,000 following in 2027. What qualifying income means, what quarterly updates involve, and what to do before you're mandated. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-gains-tax-on-property-sale/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/capital-gains-tax-on-property-sale/ Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Capital Gains Tax Rates, the 60-day reporting deadline, Private Residence Relief, and the developer-vs-trading question that decides whether HMRC treats your profit as a gain at all. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/section-24-mortgage-interest-relief-landlords/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/section-24-mortgage-interest-relief-landlords/ Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Landlord Tax Why landlords can no longer deduct mortgage interest, who it hits hardest, and the incorporation, gearing and spousal-transfer options worth modelling before you decide. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-surcharge-additional-dwellings/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-surcharge-additional-dwellings/ Mon, 29 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax The SDLT surcharge on additional dwellings is now 5% on top of standard rates. Who pays it, the main home replacement refund that many buyers miss, and what it means for companies. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-for-property-developers/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/sdlt-for-property-developers/ Sun, 28 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Stamp Duty Land Tax Stamp Duty is often the largest single tax cost on acquisition. A plain-English guide to Multiple Dwellings Relief, linked transactions, mixed-use and the planning that moves the bill. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-on-new-build-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/vat-on-new-build-property/ Sun, 28 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT Where most money is either recovered or lost on a development project. Zero-rating new dwellings, the DIY housebuilder scheme, reduced-rate conversions and the option to tax. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/option-to-tax-property/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/option-to-tax-property/ Sun, 28 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Developer VAT When does opting to tax pay off? A guide to the 20-year lock-in, TOGC, and the trade-offs between recovering input VAT and narrowing your tenant pool. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cis-refund-guide-subcontractors/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/cis-refund-guide-subcontractors/ Sun, 28 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 CIS Refunds Most subcontractors are owed money. What you can claim, how far back you can go, and the everyday situations where money is sitting with HMRC waiting to be reclaimed. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/when-to-use-an-spv/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/when-to-use-an-spv/ Sun, 28 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Structures SPVs are the default advice. Default is not always right. The tax, financing and admin trade-offs of using a Special Purpose Vehicle for a single project or a portfolio. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/specialist-vs-generalist-accountant/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/specialist-vs-generalist-accountant/ Sun, 28 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Choosing an Adviser Most accountancy is interchangeable; specialist tax is not. The case for a generalist, the cost of using one for specialist work, and the questions worth asking before you commit. https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/buying-property-through-a-limited-company/ https://www.grafeneaccounting.com/blog/buying-property-through-a-limited-company/ Tue, 20 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Property Investment Holding property in a company has become the default advice. It is sometimes right and sometimes expensive. Here is how to tell which.