Landlords and Self-employed: How to keep your tax down

So it looks like George Osborne will be hammering just about everyone wiht tax rises - not just the CGT (capital gains tax) payers. If you are a landlord (like me) or self-employed (like I might be), follow my guide to minimise your taxes.



1. Offset everything you conceiveably can against your property. Not just the obvious things like interest on the mortgage (you can't offset the capital repayments), but also the less obvious things like the utilities (if you provide them to your tenants), buildings and contents insurance and repairs (excluding improvements). Also anything you have spent on advertising. And remember, when you come to sell your property, you can reduce your capital gains tax by offsetting any building work against it.

2. If you are self-employed and work from home, remember that a lot of work-related items can be  offset against your tax. This includes phone, internet, utility bills, the cost of your workstation desk (if you have one) and even repairs and decoration to the room you work in.

3. If you rent a room to a tenant, and you also live in the property, you are allowed to take £4,250 or rent tax-free. It's the Government's Rent-A-Room scheme.

4. What if you are a tenant and you work from home? Well you can also offset some of your rent and council tax. Not bad.