Furnished Holiday Lettings Changes

Newsletter issue - January 2011.

Furnished holiday lettings have some specific tax advantages. On 9 December 2010 the Government released draft tax legislation that is expected to become law from April 2011. This draft law includes three major changes to the taxation of furnished holiday lettings.

  1. Separate FHL businesses. In April 2009 the Government announced the tax reliefs that apply to property let as furnished holiday accommodation (FHLs) in the UK, would also apply where the property was located in a European Economic Area (EEA) country. These EEA countries comprise all 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. From 6 April 2011 (1 April 2011 for companies), the profit or loss from FHL property let in EEA countries other than the UK, must be calculated separately from the profit or loss arising from UK holiday lettings. Profits and losses from any other overseas lettings must also be calculated separately and not mixed with the FHL profit or loss.
  2. Restriction of loss relief. Losses made from FHL businesses after 5 April 2011, either in the UK or elsewhere, won't be available to set against your other income for the same tax year, or the previous tax year. The loss can only be set against future profits from the same FHL business (either UK or EEA based).
  3. Change to lettings condition. The periods a property must be let to qualify for the FHL tax reliefs are extended from 6 April 2012 (1 April 2012 for companies). The property must be let commercially as furnished holiday accommodation for 105 days per year (previously 70), and be available for letting for 210 days (up from 140). If you let a number of FHL properties you can average let days across all your FHL properties in the UK for a tax year. You can also average the let periods for all your other FHL properties located in other EEA countries.

Once a property qualifies as furnished holiday lettings, it may fail the letting condition for up to two years and continue to qualify, if you elect for the FHL tax status to apply.

What our clients say about us...

  • "Paul has provided accountancy services to my company for 2 years now. I can recommend Paul very highly; his skills as an accountant are highly detailed and professional and he is always available to provide advice. One aspect of the way Paul works that I greatly appreciate is a preference to meet face to face when there is a detailed conversation to be had. I personally find this more productive and is a benefit of working with a small accountancy firm that you wouldn't get with the large faceless providers."

    ALISTAIR FAIRWEATHER - PROGRAMME & PROJECT MANAGER, DELIVERING/RESCUING I.T. 7 BUSINESS CHANGE WITH BUDGETS UPTO £50M INC SUPPIER MANAGEMENT

  • "I couldn't ask for more from Paul as an Accountant. Paul has been accountant to Work Relief Charity Recruitment for just over a year now and is proving an invaluable asset. Accurate, knowledgeable, flexible with an emphasis on service delivery, I would recommend Paul's services to any organisation looking for an accounts professional."

    Neil Price - Managing Director at Work Relief Charity Recruitment

  • "Paul was a referral from a family member when I started my business 2 years ago. As this was the first time I had ever run my own company I was totally clueless over the financial side of matters and was worried that I may have made mistakes in any of my accounting. I needn't have worried as after enaging Paul for a set monthly fee he was always there on the end of the phone for all sorts of questions I had and no matter how trivial they were Paul gave me all the information I required and more and did an excellent and painless job at the end of my first year! Couldn't ask for any better to be honest. Just two words - hire him!!!"

    Lee Westrap MBCS - Director - Bulldog IT Services

Request a Callback
Please complete our form
to request a callback
Get a Fixed Quote

Competitive fixed quotes
for agreed services

Find out how to Make more, Keep more and Work less

Increase your profit and
reduce tax liabilities

Your Business Size?

Expert advice for your
business size

 

Marker

Booth & Co  |   The Hermitage  |   15a Shenfield Road  |   Brentwood  |   Essex  |   CM15 8AG        Telephone: 01277 224666    |   Email: info@boothandco.co.uk