Corporate non-resident landlords: compliance letter to tenants

Personal tax

01 January 2020

In a recent compliance initiative, HMRC have sent letters to tenants occupying residential property owned by non-resident corporate landlords.

The letter says that HMRC are writing because they have information that the recipient is living in a property which is legally owned by an overseas company, and that the person may need to deduct tax from their rent. It then goes on to explain when the person may need to deduct tax and asks them to complete a four page form to provide the information which will help HMRC to work out how much tax, if any, needs to be deducted. An example letter is on the CIOT website.

The CIOT put several questions to HMRC about the letter and we have collated the responses we received into a Q&A format. The Q&As can be found on our website.

If you have any comments about this mailing or other feedback on HMRC’s approach, please email them to technical@ciot.org.uk.

About the authors

Margaret Curran

Margaret is the Technical Officer for the CIOT’s Management of Taxes and Owner Managed Business committees and its Dispute Resolution and Litigation Group. After studying Law at Leeds University, she began her career in tax in 1986 at a Big 4 accountancy firm.