are the agency fees deductible from tax when letting a flat?

[vito]

I have a flat to let in anerley and i m trying to do it on my own while negotiating a price with estate agents...

I was wondering if the agency fees (6%-10% or whatever they charge) are deductible from the tax..

anyone knows??

Thank You

Vito

[rendelharris]

vito Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I have a flat to let in anerley and i m trying to

> do it on my own while negotiating a price with

> estate agents...

> I was wondering if the agency fees (6%-10% or

> whatever they charge) are deductible from the

> tax..

> anyone knows??

> Thank You

Yes, they're deductible as a business expense: when you declare your profits from rental to HMRC you can subtract any agency or management fees from the total, there's a section for declaring allowable expenses. You can also deduct maintenance, insurance and quite a lot of other expenses:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/income-tax-when-you-rent-out-a-property-working-out-your-rental-income

>

> Vito

[vito]

Thanx a lot for the answer and also for the link! very useful

I m new to this and bit confused on certain things

Best

Vito

[Loz]

But beware, under the new rules being phased in over the next few years, if you, as the landlord, is a 40% (or 45%) tax payer, then you would effectively only be able to claim a proportion of those costs. And don't forget that the Agents will charge VAT on top of those fees, so an 8% fee effectively becomes 9.6%.

Personally, I reckon if you live close enough to manage it on your own, then do so. But it sounds like you need to do some reading up on your legal obligations (e.g. gas certificates, deposit protection, smoke and CO2 alarms, etc, etc).

[bobbsy]

Loz, that's not correct as I understand it. What you outlined above only applies to interest on the mortgage, all other legitimate expenses are fully deductible whatever tax rate you pay.

[Loz]

bobbsy - my mistake, you are correct.