Taxable income sources for landlords

Whether you’re an experienced landlord or just starting out, understanding your tax implications is important.

One of the key things to consider is taxable income sources and how to report them on your tax return.

Read on to find out about the main income sources you might need to consider for your Self Assessment, from employment and pensions to savings and capital gains.

Landlord Self Assessment – the basics

Here’s an overview of the key information you need to know before filing your tax return:

you must notify HMRC if you have gross annual UK property income of between £1,000 and £2,500. If it’s above £2,500, you must register for Self Assessment
if you haven’t registered before, you must do so before 5 October following the end of the tax year (5 April) in which you earned taxable rental income, otherwise you could be fined
most small UK private landlords report their taxable income to HMRC by completing and submitting an annual Self Assessment tax return (SA100)
actual taxable UK rental income and tax expenses are summarised in supplementary pages SA105. If you also need to pay tax on rental property owned overseas you use SA106
landlords can claim the £1,000 tax-free property allowance, but only if they don’t claim any tax expenses against their rental income
you have until midnight on 31 January to file your completed Self Assessment tax return and any supplementary pages online. There’s an automatic late-filing fine of £100

Read our comprehensive guide to landlord tax for more information.

What are the main taxable income sources for landlords?

You must include all taxable income sources within your Self Assessment tax return and relevant supplementary pages (each taxable source has its own identification number).

If you don’t, you could be fined heavily. So, what sources might you need to include?

1. Employment

Landlords often forget to include their income from full-time or part-time employment in their Self Assessment tax return. There’s no additional tax to pay via Self Assessment, because it should have been deducted and paid via the employer’s payroll.

But any wages must still be summarised within a Self Assessment tax return so that HMRC can work out how much income tax is payable on your other income.

2. Self employment

The same is true of any self-employed income you earn as a sole trader or ordinary business partner. If you’re self-employed, you probably already need to file a Self Assessment tax return plus supplementary pages SA103.

If you do occasional casual work to earn some extra money, you can earn up to £1,000 tax-free (known as your trading allowance). You don’t need to report this to HMRC.

3. Capital gains

Some gains made from selling assets including residential property (not your home), shares and businesses can be taxable, as can gains from crypto asset disposal. You must report your taxable gains via capital gains tax (CGT) supplementary page (SA108).

There’s a capital gains tax-free allowance of £3,000 for the 2024/25 tax year. If you make a gain from selling property, you’ll either pay:

18 per cent if you’re a basic rate income tax payer (£12,571- £50,270)
24 per cent if you’re in the higher rate band (more than £50,270)

Gains from selling other assets are charged at 10 per cent (basic rate taxpayer) and 20 per cent (higher rate taxpayer).

4. Savings interest

Bank or building society account interest can be taxable, so you may need to report it via your Self Assessment tax return.

If your total taxable income is below your annual personal allowance (£12,570 for the 2024/25 tax year), no tax may be payable on income from savings interest.

You can receive up to £5,000 of interest and not have to pay any tax on it. This is your “starting rate for savings”.

If your other income is below £17,570, you get £5,000, but every £1 of other income above your personal allowance reduces your starting rate for savings by £1.

If your other income is £17,570 or more, you get nothing. However, basic rate income tax payers get a £1,000 personal savings allowance, while higher rate payers get £500.

If you own company shares and receive dividend payments, you can benefit from a tax-free dividend allowance of £500 a year for the 2024/25 tax year.

If your total taxable income goes over your annual personal allowance (£12,570), tax payable on dividends above the dividend allowance is:

39.35 per cent if you’re an additional rate taxpayer
8.75 per cent if you’re a basic rate taxpayer
33.75 per cent if you’re a higher rate taxpayer

6. Pension payments

If your total annual income exceeds the personal allowance, income tax can also be payable on:

state pension
additional state pension
workplace and personal pension payments

Normally, you can take up to 25 per cent of the amount built up in a pension as a tax-free lump sum up to £268,275 without it affecting your personal allowance.

On page three of the SA100 tax return, you complete boxes eight to 12 to report gross UK pensions and annuities received, including lump sums, whether state or private pension.

What happens if you fail to report taxable income?

If you need to file a Self Assessment tax return to report rental income, make sure you report all other sources of taxable income.

If you don’t and it’s unintentional, the penalty is usually up to 30 per cent of the unpaid tax, plus the unpaid tax.

If you’ve deliberately not told HMRC about taxable income, the penalty is between 20 per cent and 70 per cent.

The highest penalty (50 per cent to 100 per cent) is for those who deliberately don’t report taxable income and try to conceal it from HMRC.

About GoSimpleTax

GoSimpleTax is a solution for landlords, the self-employed, sole traders, freelancers, and anyone with income outside of PAYE.

You can use the software to record income, expenses, and tax submissions all in one. It will also provide you with hints and tips that could save you money on allowances and expenses you may have missed.

Do you have any unanswered questions about taxable income sources for landlords? Let us know in the comments below.

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Taxable income sources for landlords – what do you need to know?