The UK tax return system can be a bit of a confusing one at times. The structure of the UK Self Assessment Tax Return is based on a main introductory form - known as the SA100. The SA100 is the basic tax return form, and then on top of that there are a series of supplementary pages, guided by the boxes ticked in the SA100. Example supplementary forms could be the SA103 (for self employment) and the SA105, for UK property income! 

There is good news however. Unlike with different self-employment opportunities, where you will need to treat each employment separately, all property income is treated as one business. This means you don't need to fill in separate SA105 pages for each property. It is the SA105 we will be focusing on in this article.

Do I need to fill in SA105 (UK Property Tax Form)?

There are specific guidelines surrounding whether you need to fill in the SA105. The guidelines state that you should fill in the SA105 if you receive total income of over £1000 from any of the following sources; 

• UK land or property 

• Letting furnished rooms in your own home

• Furnished holiday lets in the UK or European economic area (EEA). 

• Premiums from leasing land 

• Inducements to take an interest in letting a property (a reverse premium)

If you do not receive income from any of the above, then you may not need to fill in the SA105, although you can check on the HMRC website to be 100% sure.

Isn't the first £1000 of property income tax free?

So, is the first £1000 of property income tax free? Well..not exactly. There is something called property allowance, which is a tax exemption of up to £1,000 a year for individuals with income from land or property - even if you own the property jointly.

If your annual gross property income is £1,000 or less, you will not need to notify HMRC; however if it is more than £1000, then you will need to submit a self-assessment tax return including the SA105 pages. 

You cannot use this allowance on income from letting a room in your own home under the Rent a Room Scheme (you can read more about Rent a Room Relief here!).

That being said, even if you qualify for the property income allowance you may choose not to claim, for a number of reasons; 

• If your allowable expenses are higher than your turnover, you may want to claim tax relief on the loss against any future property income. 

• If you are a non resident landlord and want to claim back tax from the non resident landlord scheme. 

If you choose not to claim for the above reasons then you will need to complete an SA100 & SA105. 

How do I get to the SA105?

You can access the SA105 when completing your self assessment tax return on your personal tax account on the HMRC website - OR you can simplify the tax process by signing up to APARI and submitting your tax return through HMRC recognised software!

What information do I need to fill in my SA105?

So, there are a few pieces of information needed in order to fill in the SA105 to the best of your ability. The first thing you will need is your name and Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). You should have also filled in this information at the beginning of your tax return. It is worth noting that your SA105 cannot be submitted without your SA100, so you will need your UTR for your SA100 as well.

You will then need to fill in some basic information about your UK properties - such as number of properties rented out, whether they are jointly owned, and if you are claiming Rent a Room Relief for any properties. 

After you have done that, you will need to fill in details of any furnished holiday lets, including income, expenses and details of any reliefs or losses.  You will need to fill in a separate SA105 for any FHL’s in the EEA.  (NB - if you receive income from overseas property, or FHL outside of the EEA, then you will need to fill in the “foreign income” pages of the tax return). 

Following on from this you will need to complete details of any UK property income (not including FHL’s, Real Estate Investment Trust or Property Authorised Investment Funds dividends or /distributions), along with any tax you have already paid on that income (for example if you are an overseas landlord and have had tax automatically deducted by a lettings agent). 

After including income information, you can include details of any allowable tax deductible expenses. 

Remember: Keep all information about any expenses, as the more expenses you have will reduce your taxable income! 

Finally you will be able to calculate your taxable profit or loss! Here you will include any adjustments or reliefs claimed. 

Don’t Worry: We’re Here to Help

Now this can all seem very daunting - and to be honest there are a lot of boxes on the SA105! But that's where APARI comes in! 

If you use APARI, you can upload and allocate transactions easily, and then the software will pull all of this information through to your self assessment tax return! We even have a handy scan and store feature, so that users can attach relevant invoices to their transactions!

Sign up to APARI today, and start Making Tax Doable!

Want to know all about Landlord Tax Returns? We created the Ultimate Guide to Landlord Tax Returns for YOU!