HMRC property let campaign

Plenty of landlords never meant to hide anything. Some let a flat after moving in with a partner. Some inherited a house and kept the tenant on. Others assumed the letting agent was dealing with HMRC. Years later, they realise the rent was never on a tax return. HMRC runs a dedicated route for exactly this situation. This guide explains how it works, what it costs in tax, interest and penalties, and the deadlines you need to meet.

What Is the HMRC Let Property Campaign?

The Let Property Campaign is an HMRC disclosure opportunity for residential landlords who haven’t paid the right tax on rental income. It isn’t an amnesty: the tax and interest are still due. What it offers is a structured way to put things right, usually on better terms than waiting for HMRC to find the problem.

The campaign has been open since 2013 and has no closing date. HMRC uses it alongside data matching. It compares tax returns with information from sources such as tenancy deposit schemes, letting agents and property records. When those don’t match, HMRC may write to the landlord. Some people search for it as the HMRC property let campaign. It’s the same scheme.

Timing matters. If you tell HMRC before it has started looking at your affairs, the disclosure is normally treated as unprompted, and the possible penalty range is lower. If you only come forward after HMRC has contacted you about the income, it’s usually prompted, and the minimum penalty is higher.

Who Can (and Can’t) Use the Campaign?

The scheme is open to individual landlords with residential lettings, whether the property is in the UK or abroad. HMRC’s guide lists these situations:

If you own a property jointly, each owner makes a separate disclosure covering only their share of the income. One owner can’t disclose for both.

How Far Back HMRC Can Go

The number of years you disclose depends on why the tax wasn’t paid. HMRC sorts this into behaviour categories:

Picking the right category matters, because it changes both the number of years and the penalty. Be honest. If you were genuinely unaware that rent was taxable, explain why. Don’t describe deliberate behaviour as careless to make the bill smaller, because HMRC can challenge the declaration later.

Years You Can Fix Without the Campaign

Not every year needs to go through the disclosure. Some recent years can still be dealt with on an ordinary Self Assessment return. Many competitor guides skip this, but it can make the job simpler:

• A return you haven’t filed yet. The 2025/26 return is due by 31 January 2027, so 2025/26 rent can go straight on it.
• A return you can still change. You can normally amend a return up to 12 months after its 31 January deadline. For 2024/25, that window runs to 31 January 2027.
• Older years. These go through the disclosure.

If a recent year was never filed at all, or you’re not sure which route fits, HMRC’s guide and helpline can confirm how they want those years handled. Either way, include every year once, and only once.

How to Make a Let Property Campaign Disclosure: 4 Steps

1. Tell HMRC you intend to disclose. Follow the notification route in HMRC’s guide to the campaign. You’ll need your name, address, National Insurance number and the property details.
2. Receive your references. HMRC acknowledges the notification and sends a disclosure reference and a payment reference. Keep both safe, because every later step uses them.
3. Work out what you owe, year by year. For each tax year, list the rent received and the allowable costs, then the profit, the tax, the interest and the penalty. HMRC’s calculator can work out interest and penalties for up to 20 years.
4. Submit and pay. Send the disclosure with a signed declaration that it’s correct and complete, and pay using the payment reference. If you can’t pay in full, agree an arrangement with HMRC before the deadline.

Only claim expenses that relate to the letting and that haven’t already been claimed elsewhere. If an earlier year produced a rental loss, it can only be set against future rental profits, not against other income.

Let Property Campaign Penalties and Interest

Penalties are a percentage of the extra tax due. HMRC sets the rate using two questions: why was the tax missed, and did you come forward before HMRC prompted you? These are the ranges from HMRC factsheet CC/FS7a:

Within each range, HMRC reduces the penalty for the quality of your disclosure: how much you tell it, how much help you give and how much access you allow to records. A full, well-supported disclosure earns the largest reduction.

• Long-running problems: if the tax was missed for more than 3 years, HMRC is unlikely to cut the penalty below a point 10 percentage points above the minimum. For a careless, unprompted case, that means roughly 10% rather than 0%.
• Overseas income or assets: where offshore matters are involved, penalties can reach up to 200%.
• Interest: charged on late tax from the date it should have been paid until the date you pay. Interest isn’t added to the penalty unless the penalty itself is paid late.
• Records: if HMRC later finds you didn’t keep proper records, a separate penalty of up to £3,000 can apply.

Worked Example: A Careless Landlord (Illustration)

This example is simplified to show how the parts fit together. Real figures depend on the rates, allowances and your other income in each year.

Aisha has a salary that uses her Personal Allowance and keeps her a basic-rate taxpayer. In 2019 she began letting a flat she owned before marriage. After allowable costs, it makes about £5,500 profit a year. She didn’t realise this needed reporting. In November 2026 she decides to put it right. Her behaviour is likely to be careless, so she looks back 6 years.

The extra tax across all six years is £6,600. For the four disclosed years, the problem has lasted more than 3 years, so the penalty is unlikely to fall below roughly 10%. On £4,400, that’s about £440. Interest is added for each year from its original due date, and HMRC’s calculator works that out. Before relying on any figures, check the Personal Allowance, tax bands and rates for each year.

Got an HMRC Letter About Rental Income? What to Do Next

HMRC often sends “one-to-many” letters (also called nudge letters) to landlords when its data suggests rental income is missing from their returns. These letters are not a formal enquiry, but they do have a reply date. Here’s a sensible order of work:

1. Note the reply date printed on the letter and put it in your diary.
2. Check your records. Was the property let? Did it make a profit? Was the income already reported, perhaps on a joint owner’s return or under the Rent a Room scheme?
3. Choose your route. If tax is missing for older years, notify HMRC through the campaign. If only recent years are affected, you may be able to amend those returns. If nothing is owed, reply as the letter asks and briefly explain why.
4. Keep copies of everything you send and the date you sent it.

Ignoring the letter is the riskiest choice. HMRC can follow up with a compliance check. Any disclosure made after that is likely to be prompted, with a higher minimum penalty.

Which Disclosure Route Fits Your Situation?

Can You Pay in Instalments?

Yes, sometimes. If you can’t pay the full amount when you submit, contact HMRC before the 90-day deadline and ask about a payment arrangement. HMRC will want to see your income and spending to decide what’s affordable, so have that information ready. An arrangement isn’t guaranteed, and interest keeps running on any unpaid tax.

After You Disclose: Staying Compliant

The disclosure clears up the past. These steps keep you on track from now on:

• Report rent every year. Complete the UK property pages of your Self Assessment return, or the foreign pages for overseas lettings.
• Check Making Tax Digital. From April 2026, landlords and sole traders with qualifying income over £50,000 must keep digital records and send quarterly updates. The threshold falls to £30,000 from April 2027. Check whether MTD for Income Tax applies to you.
• Selling a let property? Report and pay any Capital Gains Tax within 60 days of completion.
• Keep records. HMRC says to keep records for at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline for each return.

For help choosing support, see our guide to accountants for landlords, and our tax return deadline guide for the key dates.

Common Mistakes With an HMRC Rental Disclosure

Let Property Campaign FAQs

Is the Let Property Campaign only for UK property?

No. Individual landlords can use it for residential property in the UK or abroad, and landlords living overseas can use it for UK lettings.

Can a limited company use the campaign?

No. HMRC excludes disclosures made for a company or a trust, so those need a different route.

What if my rental income made a loss?

A rental loss can only be carried forward against future rental profits. Where there was no profit, there may be little or no tax, but you should still report the income correctly.

Do joint owners make one disclosure or two?

Each owner makes a separate disclosure showing only their share of the income.

How long do I have after notifying HMRC?

90 days from the date you receive HMRC’s acknowledgement to disclose and pay, or to agree a payment arrangement.

Will I be prosecuted?

HMRC can’t offer immunity from prosecution, but it says that coming forward is far better than waiting for it to find the income.

Is there a Let Property Campaign calculator?

Yes. HMRC provides a calculator that works out interest and penalties for up to 20 previous years once you have each year’s tax figure.

I’ve had a nudge letter. Is it too late to use the campaign?

Not usually. A general letter isn’t a formal enquiry. Act before the reply date. The campaign is unlikely to be accepted once HMRC has said it is opening an enquiry or compliance check.

Does renting a room in my home count?

Only if the income is over the Rent a Room threshold. Below that, the income is normally tax-free and doesn’t need to be disclosed.

Final Verdict on the Let Property Campaign

If you have rent that never reached a tax return, the Let Property Campaign gives you a clear way to settle it before HMRC raises the issue. Work out your behaviour category and the years involved first. Fix recent years on your normal returns, and send the older years through the disclosure within 90 days. Then keep reporting every year. Acting early usually means a lower penalty and a simpler process.