Landlords are about to lose mortgage interest tax relief. This means they will no longer be able to deduct mortgage interest from their income. The National Landlords Association (NLA) says this will push 440,000 landlords into a higher rate tax bracket.
Mortgage Interest Relief to be Phased Out Next Year
At the moment, landlords can offset their mortgage interest against any tax. However, from April next year, this is being phased out. By April 2020, the tax saving will be phased out completely and landlords will no longer be able to offset any mortgage interest against tax. For landlords who have mortgages, this is disastrous. 40% income tax payers will have to pay significantly more income tax on their earnings from rental properties, which could make buy to let investment no longer worth the time or the effort.
Unfairly Penalising Landlords
Some experts believe that the government is wrongly punishing landlords for problems affecting first time buyers, when in reality it is the lenders who are at fault for charging first time buyers more when they need a high percentage mortgage. The government seems determined to penalise landlords.
Many landlords barely break even as it is, so they will have no choice but to increase rents on their properties to recover some of their costs. Those that can’t recover the extra costs will be forced into selling their properties.
These are difficult times for landlords. Are you going to be affected by the government’s tax changes? If so, let us know in the comments.
