Sell, incorporate, get a job or all three?

Sell, incorporate, get a job or all three?

9:50 AM, 29th September 2022, About 2 years ago 19

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My wife and I have nearly £2,000,000 on fixed-rate mortgages that are due to expire in January 2023 – YIKES!

The LTV across our portfolio is somewhere between 40% and 50% and in recent years our rental income has been apportioned at around 33% finance costs, 33% other expenses and 33% profits.

We have calculated that if interest rates hit 7%+ by January we could be into negative cashflow territory.

Our sole income has come from property rentals for nearly 10 years now, but it is starting to look like one or both of us might need to get a job.

I read Mark Alexander’s latest article with interest yesterday and we have since booked a Property118 Tax Planning consultation for two weeks time to discuss our options. Incorporating our business and subsequently selling a few properties to de-leverage certainly appears to make good sense. Time will tell. In the meantime, I would be interested to read comments from other Property118 Members on what their plans are, especially if they find themselves in the same position as us.

Thanks in Advance

The Duttons


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Comments

Ann Shaw

14:49 PM, 29th September 2022, About 2 years ago

s24 is a wholly unfair tax, whereby you are essentially taxed on turnover, not profit! It artificially raises your gross income, which for those who are middle income earners can easily be drawn into a fake £100,000+ earnings. Thereby losing their tax allowance with a paltry 20% mortgage interest relief after your tax position has been calculated. It is grossly wrong and totally unfair!

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

15:25 PM, 29th September 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Robert at 29/09/2022 - 14:00
Sadly not.

Imagine a scenario where there is zero cashflow due to increased finance costs.

Now imagine those finance costs were £200,000.

They would be taxed on the income of £200,000 less a tax credit of £40,000.

You couldn't make it up could you?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

15:32 PM, 29th September 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Grumpy Doug at 29/09/2022 - 14:38
Hi Doug

That Incorporation Viability Software software became so complex to use that we have recently decided to stop selling it.

We still use it ourselves to prepare for Tax Planning Consultations of course and we also provide it to Accountants who refer business to us on a regular basis.

Justin Lee

9:14 AM, 30th September 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118 at 29/09/2022 - 11:04
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your concern .
At present we have 12 personally owned properties, 6 each.
Last Feb we purchased a freehold block of 6 flats in a Ltd company but are just converting the structure to 4 Alphabet shares with my 2 daughters owning 49% of the shares each and myself and my wife 1% each. We have 100 voting rights/share my daughters 1 voting right/share.
This way we can all take different value dividends, (one daughter at uni), any capital gain already belongs to our daughters and the initial loan with interest we made to the company is still payable to us.
By selling 3-4 we would also hopefully be bought back to not being effected by section 24.
Incidentally I was also hoping that section 24 might be repealed, however I don't really believe the current administration have any clue about economics, so wouldn't have the intelligence to make this decision.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

10:26 AM, 30th September 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Justin Lee at 30/09/2022 - 09:14
Understood, when you mentioned incorporation I thought you had transferred some but all BTL’s into a company.

The company structure you have in mind is better than most but far from perfect. This is because you’ve only moved the IHT of growth down just one generation. We can help you to improve that.

I also think we can help you move the other 12 into the company without CGT, SDLT or the need to refinance.

Please book a Tax Consultation with our Team, which comes with a guarantee of total satisfaction or a full refund

Justin Lee

11:48 AM, 1st October 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118 at 30/09/2022 - 10:26
Thanks Mark. I have now booked a consultation and am seeing Paul Hill. One of the things that has stopped me before now is fear of being investigated by the HMRC, that's really not my bag. I saw a review from a customer that said that the process had been investigated and the HMRC had concluded that it was all within the law. Does this mean that similar investigation are now much less likely to be instigated.

Ann Shaw

11:58 AM, 1st October 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Robert at 29/09/2022 - 14:00
Unfortunately, we are taxed on the rent we receive, regardless of whether we make a profit or not. For eg, if I take rent of say £100,000 per annum and my interest only mortgage costs are say £50,000, under s24 rules we are taxed on the full rental income, in this case £100,000, not the profit of £50,000 as you would expect. There is a derisory 20% mortgage interest relief that’s subtracted from your tax position at the end of the calculation! It is a wholly unfair tax and designed to push LL’s out of business. I cannot see any Government removing s24, as it is now a cash cow and easy pickings for HMRC and the Government to enforce! It’s a disgrace!!

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

12:34 PM, 1st October 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Justin Lee at 01/10/2022 - 11:48
HMRC open ‘Compliance Checks’ on around 1 in every 100 incorporating.

We prepare every single case for a Compliance Check

To date we have dealt with 19 Compliance Checks, all of which HMRC have closed and confirmed “no further tax due”. All were dealt with at no extra cost to our Clients and were closed in correspondence.

Justin Lee

19:08 PM, 1st October 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118 at 01/10/2022 - 12:34
Reassuring. Thanks.

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