Landlord accountants in Antrim

Residential and commercial landlords in Antrim: accidental landlords renting a former home, buy-to-let investors with one to several mortgaged properties, portfolio landlords, joint owners and couples, owners of furnished holiday lets and serviced accommodation, overseas landlords with UK rentals, and anyone who has let a property for years without declaring it and wants to put it right.

• Rental income and expenses for each property reconciled to agent statements and bank records
• Allowable expenses claimed in full: repairs, insurance, agent fees, ground rent, service charges, replacement of domestic items
• Mortgage interest handled correctly as a 20% tax credit, not a deduction, with the restriction carried forward where it cannot be used
• Joint ownership splits, Form 17 elections and the property allowance applied where they help
• Furnished holiday lets, serviced accommodation and rent-a-room treated under the rules now in force
• UK property pages of the Self Assessment completed and filed, with Making Tax Digital readiness assessed

1. Tell us your situation

   A short message or call about what you do and what needs filing. We ask the questions that determine the right package and nothing more.

2. Fixed fee in writing

   You receive one price for the work, confirmed by email before anything starts. It does not change if the job takes longer than we expected.

3. Send records, review the draft

   Records come by WhatsApp or email. We prepare the draft, explain the figures in plain English and answer your questions.

4. We file, you get the receipts

   Once you approve and the fee is settled, we submit electronically and forward the HMRC or Companies House acknowledgement the same day.

Antrim is in Northern Ireland, in the BT41 postcode district, Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland uses the same income tax, National Insurance and Corporation Tax rates as Great Britain, and companies file with Companies House on the Belfast register. Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to property. For goods, the Windsor Framework means some EU VAT rules apply to trade with the EU, which affects businesses moving goods across the border.

Record keeping

HMRC requires records of all income and expenses, bank statements, invoices and receipts to be kept for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline of the tax year they relate to, and companies must keep records for six years from the end of the accounting period. Digital copies are acceptable. Under Making Tax Digital the records must be kept in compatible software.

Allowable expenses

Expense claims are where a return is won or lost in an enquiry. The test is wholly and exclusively for the trade; where a cost is mixed, the business proportion can be claimed if it can be identified. Capital items such as equipment and vans are relieved through capital allowances rather than as expenses, except under the cash basis where they are simply deducted when paid.

Crypto records and reporting

Crypto tax splits into capital gains on disposals and income on rewards, with different rates and different reporting. The £3,000 annual exempt amount and the 18% and 24% rates apply to gains; staking, mining and airdrop income is taxed at marginal income tax rates. HMRC's nudge letters to holders have increased sharply, and a voluntary disclosure before one arrives is treated far more leniently.

The 60-day property CGT return

Since April 2020 a gain on UK residential property must be reported and the tax paid within 60 days of completion through HMRC's dedicated service, separately from the annual return. Non-residents must report all UK land disposals in the same window whether or not tax is due. Getting the computation right first time matters because the figure is then carried into the Self Assessment.

Dormant companies

Dormancy is a status that is easy to lose. The strict rule is no accounting transactions other than share capital and Companies House fees, which means no bank account activity at all in practice. Fees should be paid personally by the director. A company that traded and has stopped becomes dormant only after its final trading accounts and tax return are filed and HMRC is told.

The trading and property allowances

Small side incomes are covered by two £1,000 allowances, one for trading and one for property, which remove the need to register or report income below that level. Once income exceeds £1,000, the allowance can be used in place of expenses, a choice worth making deliberately: a freelancer with £900 of costs is better off with the allowance, one with £3,000 is not.

Employer National Insurance

The cost of an employee is more than the salary. Employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year, the 3% minimum pension contribution, holiday pay, equipment and management time all come on top. The Employment Allowance of £10,500 reduces the National Insurance for most employers with more than one person on the payroll.