A growing number of UK ex-pats who own a buy-to-let property in the UK are continuing to approach HMRC to admit they have evaded tax, says national accountancy group, UHY Hacker Young.

According to recent figures, 248 overseas investors in UK buy-to-let properties came forward to admit tax evasion in the last year. Many of these people will be UK ex-pats living abroad rather than foreign investors.

The disclosures of underpaid tax were made to HMRC via its Let Property Campaign. Under the campaign, HMRC sends out warning letters to taxpayers it suspects of underpaying tax. The individual then has 90 days to calculate how much is owed to HMRC or risk facing a full investigation.

These individuals can face severe consequences if they are found to have withheld any tax owed to HMRC and fail to come forward under the scheme. This could include tough financial penalties or even criminal prosecution.

The number of disclosures of tax evasion from overseas landlords fell by 36% in the last year, from 390 in 2019/20. In some cases, landlords may have been less willing to voluntarily disclose unpaid tax if their financial situation was negatively impacted, as a consequence of the pandemic.

Philip Kinzett-Evans, Partner at UHY Hacker Young, explains that there are common reasons landlords unwittingly don’t pay the right amount of tax, including:

– Deducting the costs of a full repayment mortgage against rental income and then using that to reduce their tax bill by too great an amount

– Where the rental property ownership is jointly held between a spouse or civil partner and they mistakenly allocate the rental income to the individual with the lowest marginal tax rate

– Or, expenditure that is not allowable for income tax is claimed in error

Over the years, HMRC has become increasingly effective at identifying landlords that are not paying the correct amount of tax on their rental income.