New announcement. Learn more

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS (ICAEW)

News and advice to help make your property business a success

LANDLORDS FINANCIAL BLOG

All

Landlords Tax Property Tax Landlords Tax Returns Landlords Accounts Property Tax Return Property Accounts Landlords Financial Landlords Accountant Tax Returns Tax Chartered Accountants Online Accountant Online Bookkeeping Online Tax Returns Your Online Accountant Your Online Bookkeeper VAT Businessadvice HMRC Accounting Property Cashflow Dividends Expenses PAYE Property Accountant Smallbusiness Businesstips Capital Gains Tax FHLs Furnished Holiday Lettings Ihtexemptions Income Tax Inheritance Tax NIC SDLT Taxplanning Cgt Investment Property Tax Landlord Repairs Pension Property bookkeeper Property Letting Tax Relief Taxreturn VAT invoice Allowable Business Expenses Annual Exempt Amount Bad Debt Tax Relief Business Expenses Business Rate Capital Allowances Capital Gains Capital gains tax property Cashbasis Child Benefit Compliance Deductibleexpenses Directors Loans Disincorporation Employment Allowance Finance Financialmanagement Gifts HMRC complaints Holiday Lets Tax ISA Lettings Making Tax Digital MakingTaxDigital Mileage Allowance Mobilephones National Insurance Overlaprelief Partnership Partnershipbusinesses Ppr Property Company Tax Property Tax Deductible Expenses Propertyallowance Reimbursedexpenses Rent a Room Relief Rental Residence Relief Small Business Sole Trader Tax free income TimetoPay 60 day capital gains limit Abolitionclass2 Accrualsbasis Acquisitions Advisoryfuelrates AI AirBnB Alphabet shares Amap Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings Appeal Artificial intelligence Assessment Asset disposal Associated Company Associated Company Tax Rules Autumnstatement Bad Debt Baddebts Badgesoftrade BADR Beancounter Benefits in Kind Breakeven Point Budget Business advice Business asset deferment Business coach Business Continuity Business Entertainment Business Rates Business Rates Relief Business tips Businessgrowth Businesstypes Buy or Lease Equipment Buytolet Capital Allowances for Cars Capital Gain Capitalallowances Capitalexpenditure Car Capital Allowances Carry Back Losses Change of Tax Basis ChatGPT CIS Scheme Class 2 NIC Common Tenant Companies Expenditure Companies House Company Account Deadlines Company Account Filing Company Strike Off Company Tax Efficient Property Companyassociation Companyloanstaxfree Compulsory Strike Off Construction Industry Scheme Contacthmrc Contentmarketing Contributions Corporation Tax Losses Corporation Tax New Regime Corporation Tax Rates CorporationTax Costs Cryptocurrency Customerlistimplications Deductible Business Expenses Deductions Demerger Depreciation Development Directors Directorsloans Disallowable Business Expenses Discovery Dividend allowance Dividend Allowance Reduction Dividend Planning Dividendallowance DLA Domestic Items Tax Relief Dormantcompany EIS Employee Discount Employee management Employeecompensationpayments EmployeeOwnershipTrust Endoflifeplanning Enquiry EnterpriseResourcePlanning Entertainment Entrepreneurmindset Equity Expenses Allowed For Tax Extrabenefit Eyetests Flat Rate Scheme Flipping Furnished Holiday Lets Tax Gift Aid Gift Allowance Growthhacks Help to pay tax bills HICBC HMO Licensing Fees Holdoverrelief Holiday Lettings Tax Home responsibilities protection How to apply for a Business Loan How to Extract Profit Humour Hybrid Illegaldividends Income Income and Gains Inflationary Gains Influencers Inheritance Tax Nil Rate Band Interest Rates Interestrelief Interestrestriction Invoicing IR35 Joint Tenant Keypersoninsurance Landlords Self Assessment Late vat registration LBTT Leadgeneration Leadmagnet Leanbusinessmodel Letting Agent Disbursements Letting Agent Recharres Lettings Relief Lifetime Limit Limitedcompany Liquidation Demerger Loaninterest Long Lets Tax Longservice LTT Mainresidencerelief Managed Lets Management accounting Maritalhomedivorce Marriage allowance Marriageallowance Mileage payment Minimumwage Mixedusesdlt Mortgage costs Mortgage Interest Relief MTD MTD Update New property Newcompanycarfuelrates Newnicrules NIC 2023 to 2024 NIC savings Nicdisregard Nicreduction NMW Nmwerrors Non Allowable Business Expenses Non-taxable Nudgeletter Optiontotaxvat Overpayment Relief Overseas properties Paperform Partnership schemes Parttime Patternofoccupancy PAYE by Direct Debit Payrolling Penaltypoints Pension Payments Tax Relief Pensioncontributions Pensions Performance-reviews Periodofgrace Periodsofabsence Personal Expenses Personal finance Personalallowance Personalguarantees Postcessationrelief Pretradingexpenses Profit Profit-and-loss ProfitAndLoss Property Allowance Property Development Company Property Incorporation Property Investment Company Property investor accounts Property investor tax tips Property Rental Business Property Trading Propertycompany PRR R40 Recharges by Estate Agents Regularpayments Relief Rent your drive Rentaroom Research & Devolopment Residential property gains Residentialsdlt Retail stock control Retainedprofits Revenue Room for rent tax Rti SA Salary Savings SDLT changes Section 455 Tax Section455tax Selective Licences Landlords Self Assessment Self-employednic Selfemployed Selling Online Seperation Servicecharges Settlementslegislation Simplified Expenses Smallbiz Smallbusinessraterelief Software Spring Budget Staffparties Stamp duty Student Loan Deductions SuccessJourney Surplus Cash Tax Allowance on Driveways Tax Allowances Tax Break Tax Codes Tax Deadlines Tax Deductions Tax Filing Deadlines Tax Free Childcare Tax Implications Tax on Company Vans Tax position Tax Refund Tax tips for landlords Taxbillpayments Taxconsequences Taxincentives Taxposition Taxpositionassets Taxrelief Taxreliefs Taxses Terminationpayments Tips Trade professional Trading losses Training Transfer Assets Transfer Assets Between Spouses Umbrellacompany Undisclosedincome Unpaid Rent VAT Bad Debt Relief VAT Deadlines VAT Disbursements VAT Penalties VAT registration VAT Reverse Charge Vatpenalties Vatregistered Vatregistrationthreshold Wellbeing Working from home

TAGS

Letting the FHL for longer periods during the off-season

November 1, 2023

Letting the FHL for longer periods during the off-season

Letting holiday properties, particularly in coastal resorts, may have a strong seasonal bias, and when business is slow during the off-season, it can be tempting to let the property on a longer let. For example, a property could be let on short-term holiday lets over the summer months and on a six-month residential let during the winter. However, adopting this approach may have tax implications and prevent the property from accessing the tax benefits available to furnished holiday lets (FHLs).

Definition of a furnished holiday let

Furnished holiday lets benefit from more generous tax rules than residential lets. They are able to access capital gains tax business reliefs, and also are not subject to the interest rate restriction applying to residential lets, meaning interest and finance costs can be deducted in full in calculating the taxable profit.

However, these benefits are only available to properties that pass certain tests. To qualify as an FHL the property must be let furnished and must meet all three of the following occupancy conditions.

Condition 1 – the pattern of occupation condition

For the property to be an FHL, the total of all lets that exceed 31 days must not be more than 155 days in the year.

Condition 2 – the availability condition

The property must be available for letting for at least 210 days in the tax year.

Condition 3 – the letting condition

The property must be actually let for at least 105 days in the tax year. Where this test is not met in relation to a particular property for a particular year, the property may qualify as an FHL by virtue of averaging or a period of grace election.

For a continuing let, the tests are applied for the tax year.

Implications of long lets

Letting anFHL for longer periods may mean that the pattern of occupancy condition is not met. Where lets of more than 31 days total more than 155 days in the tax year, the property will not be an FHL. This will mean that during the off-season, a longer let cannot exceed 155 days (roughly five months) – lets longer than this will mean that the pattern of occupancy condition is not met. Assuming lets are kept at below 31 days during the peak season, the property can only be let on longer lets in the off-season for a maximum of five months if the goal is to retain FHL status.

However, the maxim of not letting the tax tail wag the dog should be borne in mind – it may be preferable for the property to be let on a residential let during the off-season rather than it being left empty, even if this jeopardises its FHL status.

patternofoccupancy

Landlords Tax

Landlords Accounts

Landlords Tax Returns

Property Tax

Property Accounts

Property Tax Return