What you’ll learn (in plain English)

By the end of this guide, you’ll understand how to:

• Avoid common tax traps that turn a simple profit into an unexpected income tax or NIC bill.
• Tell if you’re trading or investing – and why that dramatically changes your tax position.
• Use the right structure (personal name, partnership or company) and understand the pros and cons.
• Claim all legitimate expenses & reliefs on development, refurbishment and rental activity.
• Handle “Transactions in UK Land” rules so your “slice of the action” doesn’t get hit at income tax rates.
• Deal with CIS, VAT and Making Tax Digital (MTD) without drowning in red tape.
• Protect yourself in an HMRC enquiry and understand how HMRC really finds information about you.
• Plus much,much more….

Inside this book?

Across 20 detailed chapters, you’ll discover:

• Foundations & compliance

  • The difference between tax planning, avoidance and evasion (“the thickness of a prison wall”)

  • Key tax dates, self-assessment timings and the new CGT 60-day reporting rules

  • Anti-avoidance regimes such as DOTAS, GAAR and “Transactions in UK Land”

• Trading in property

  • Turnarounds, refurbs and new builds – when HMRC says you’re trading

  • How to register, keep records and choose between cash basis vs accruals

  • Claiming development expenses, finance costs, travel and capital allowances correctly

  • Using companies for development and when the “double tax” charge still works in your favour

• Homeowners & “accidental developers”

  • Main residence relief basics (and where people go wrong)

  • Selling the garden, building in the grounds and when HMRC says you’re effectively trading

  • Periods of absence, the 9-month rule, job-related accommodation and more

• Buy-to-let & furnished lets

  • Rental income vs capital gains: what’s taxable, when and how

  • Repairs vs improvements, replacement of domestic items, and what to do with big refurbs

  • Finance cost restrictions for residential landlords – and how to manage them

  • Losses, joint ownership, couples and partnerships

• CIS, VAT & commercial property

  • When developers and even landlords get dragged into the Construction Industry Scheme

  • The VAT reverse charge in construction and how it affects cashflow

  • Reduced and zero-rated VAT opportunities (e.g. energy-saving materials, conversions, new builds)

  • Capital allowances on commercial and mixed-use property – and how not to miss them

• Stamp taxes & beyond

  • SDLT (plus LBTT in Scotland, LTT in Wales), higher rates and mixed-use strategies

  • Linked transactions and why HMRC cares how you structure deals

  • Inheritance tax issues for property people, Business Property Relief and balancing IHT vs CGT

And much more – all updated for the 2025/26 tax year.

Who is the guide for?

Property Investors & Landlords - Anyone who is either just starting out in property investment or who already has a property portfolio. This includes:

• Property developers and renovators
• Buy-to-let owners and landlords
• Commercial property owners

Accountants & Tax Specialists - This book can be invaluable to you when advising clients on property taxation matters.

Testimonial

Excellent guide! I have applied just one of the tips and it has already paid for the guide 10 times over, yet there are still so many more tips to go through. This is defiantly one of the best investments I have made in a long while.

I'd definitely recommend this to anybody who wants to apply simple practices to pay less property tax.

Gary Agar
http://www.jomongee.co.uk/

Read other testimonials

Author, Lee Sharpe, is a UK leading Tax Specialist.

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