tax on rental income

[teag1rl]

if you've been earning money through rental income for a few years and want to come clean and pay everything you owe would you get into trouble for not doing anything about it sooner?

[cascarelli]

I think they might charge you interest on what you've owed from previous years if you declare it. Do you complete a self assessment tax return? I'd guess that you could simply fill it in as income from the last 12 months - unless that would look odd because it was so much?

[teag1rl]

have never fille din self assesment. Am employed normally. Could I try just to make out I only bought property last year and that's why I'm only filling out form now or are they likely to do some digging?

[Reverandfunk]

Just act stupid lol I do.

[teag1rl]

thanks reverand funk it;'s what I've done til conscience kicks in!
I'm just trying to get my facts right as to what I tell accountant because I believe they cant do stuff if they know it to be false. So I cant get them to make up lies for me- Am I right in thinking that?

[Black Noir]

Yes you should come clean really but dont panic quite yet....dependening on the type of rental income you have and whether the property is let furnished or unfurnished you can claim various expenses, including mortgage interest paid (if you have a mortgage on the property of course)

This will help with what you can claim:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/worksheets/sa105notes.p df

Its a bit long but worth a read.

BN

[Reverandfunk]

Another avenue would be to not have an accountant, all those things written down will only get you in trouble lol

[cascarelli]

teag1rl it really depends on your accountant. They can advise you of the best thing to do. They would probably say to declare it but whether it should be backdated or in one year I'd only do in discussion with them. A good accountant will help you out of problems like this.

Haven't had the exact same scenario as you with not paying income tax but accountants can certainly be very helpful with tax issues. Don't make decisions until you've spoken with them.

[teag1rl]

Thank you kindly for all your answers. Unfortunately I'm too much of a worrier to take reverandfunks advice but I like his style! I shall see what accountant says-I've done a bit of worst case scenario maths myself and I dont think it will be too bad. Thanks once again x