Landlord national insurance would be a “tax on working people”
6 months ago | 5 comments
National Insurance on rental income could give older landlords an advantage
10:08 AM, 22nd October 2025, 6 months ago
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The rumoured proposal of introducing National Insurance on rental income could benefit older landlords.
Media reports suggest Chancellor Rachel Reeves could announce in the Autumn Budget that millions of landlords may be hit by plans to impose National Insurance contributions on rental income, generating around £2 billion in additional revenue.
However, PropTech firm Reapit claims the move could also present an opportunity for landlords over the state pension age.
Exemption for those over state pension age
Reapit says those over the State Pension age are currently exempt from paying National Insurance contributions, creating a significant post-tax yield advantage for older landlords.
Dr Neil Cobbold, commercial director at Reapit, explains: “While younger landlords are reshaping the market, agencies should not underestimate the resilience and value of older investors.
“If National Insurance is levied on all rental income but the current exemption for those over State Pension age holds, these investors could see higher net yields than their younger counterparts, making property investment more attractive to retirees.
“It will be for agencies across the country to sell this potential opportunity to their older landlords in the face of regulatory reform.”
For agents it could present a valuable opportunity
According to the English Private Landlord Survey 2024, landlords with larger portfolios are both more likely to use an agent and be closer to retirement.
The survey found that 77% of landlords with five or more properties were aged 55 or over, and that large-scale landlords were more likely to rely on an agent’s fully managed service.
Dr Cobbold said this could present a valuable opportunity for letting agents to help landlords make the most of their investments.
He said: “For agents, it could represent a valuable opportunity. Older portfolio landlords who rely on experienced agents to professionally manage their properties can trust those agents to guide them in investing beyond their local area in areas that deliver strong rental yields.
“Agencies with the widest reach and the tech to combine sales and lettings on a single platform are best placed to respond. Integrated operations give these agents the insight to support every investor, from millennial first-timers to pension-age portfolio holders, helping them identify the right sales opportunities that can deliver the best rental yields across the country, rather than just the landlord’s local area.”
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Member Since January 2025 - Comments: 8
2:05 PM, 22nd October 2025, About 6 months ago
What’s to be done? Buy another house with all the extra tax and aggravation to deal with, or stick two fingers to solving the Housing Crisis, buy a Harley and ride Route 66? Tricky one there.
Member Since May 2024 - Comments: 46
2:43 PM, 22nd October 2025, About 6 months ago
How deluded, why would a retiree enter the PRS now?
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 1999
3:08 PM, 22nd October 2025, About 6 months ago
Apparently Angela Rayner has just broken her silence and blamed her recent resignation on a “complex tax situation”.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2124618/angela-rayner-breaks-resignation-silence
Yes Angela, that’s right. We have probably the most complex tax code in the world.
Landlords have been facing a ‘complicated tax situation’ for years, bad under the conservatives, and getting even worse under labour. The ‘complex tax situation’ doesn’t even act in the public interest. Adding national insurance to rental income, if it happens, is only going to raise rents.
Angela lived a lie. She wasn’t ever going to build 1.5 million homes and didn’t. Her successor can’t do it either.
The only way to provide all the accommodation required whether in Greater Manchester, Hove (which has a significant shortage of rental accommodation and where rents are amongst the least affordable in the country) or anywhere else is by stopping attacking the private rental sector by imposing extra taxes on landlords that aren’t imposed on other businesses. Stopping small landlords from offsetting their finance costs for example.
If labour introduces NI on rents and doesn’t allow landlords to offset their finance costs against rents again then it is only going to do more damage on top of the damage that has already been done.
Member Since October 2013 - Comments: 1630 - Articles: 3
3:12 PM, 22nd October 2025, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Northern Observer at 22/10/2025 – 14:43
Obviously, this wouldn’t be applied to incorporated landlords. S24 again…
As a retiree, I can’t wait to finally be out of the PRS.
Member Since August 2021 - Comments: 307 - Articles: 1
3:54 PM, 22nd October 2025, About 6 months ago
Don’t be so miserable, surely if we are forced to pay NIC then our rental income must be earnings, so would mean our contributions qualify for tax relief.
This was one of the benefits of the FHL regime until Jeremy Hunt put a stop to it. (Yes, I know, he proposed and Rachel seconded it.)
Making pension contributions would not only allow us to diversify our investment, it would also provide a way to mitigate S24 and to avoid the 60% tax cliff being triggered early.
RRB could become RRA so wave 2 fingers in the air and let the government know you don’t care (for their plans).
Looking for help, or simply a shoulder to cry on?
Head to the Old Billingsgate next Wednesday, 29 November and say hello to the iHowz team. https://ihowz.uk/
https://www.landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk/29-october-london
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 1999
4:16 PM, 22nd October 2025, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Rod at 22/10/2025 – 15:54
So when you say income must be earnings and so must qualify for tax relief, do you mean that we ought to be able to pay rental income into a pension? Or do you mean that if rental income is income from a business activity then we ought to be able to offset our finance costs against our rents?
Member Since May 2024 - Comments: 46
4:19 PM, 22nd October 2025, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by NewYorkie at 22/10/2025 – 15:12
Same here, just sold one and as the rest become vacant they will be sold off too.
Member Since January 2015 - Comments: 1435 - Articles: 1
4:25 PM, 22nd October 2025, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 22/10/2025 – 16:16
If Labour deems PRS landlords not to be workers they’ll just call it unearned income.
Member Since October 2013 - Comments: 1630 - Articles: 3
4:48 PM, 22nd October 2025, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 22/10/2025 – 16:25
But if you have to pay income tax on profits (assuming you have some!), then it must be viewed as earned income. I’d love to see how they would charge NI on incorporated landlords.
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 1999
4:59 PM, 22nd October 2025, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 22/10/2025 – 16:25
I think labour’s idea of what a ‘worker’ is is anyone who is in the public sector or in a predominantly unionised industry. But then there’s the law.
Plenty of plumbers, electricians, carpenters and other people in the building trade are also into buy-to-let. There aren’t enough of those people which is part of the reason labour can’t build 1.5 million homes, or get all properties from EPC band D to C or above. The other reason of course being to do with the fact that they are penalising private investors from investing in residential property.
All politicians love their own lies.