HMRC to crackdown on landlord fraud

Date: 26th September 2008

Up to one million of the UK's landlords could be due a visit from the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for unpaid taxes.

The government's taxation department is chasing landlords who are liable to pay extra tax on their buy-to-let rental income.

Legislation which will come into force next April will allow HMRC officials to inspect buy-to-let property owners' tax records in their own home.

Phil Espin, tax director for Grant Thorton, told the Telegraph: "It's likely that only the most serious cases will warrant a knock on the door from the taxman, but it signals HMRC's intent to pursue persistent tax evaders."

Buy-to-let mortgages have risen to over a million from 120,000 in 2000, demonstrating the huge interest in supplementing an income in this way.

Recent research has shown that over 80 per cent of the UK's small businesses expect to grow in the coming year.