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'White Goods' as an Allowable Expense for Unfurnished Properties

Landlords with furnished properties can claim the wear and tear allowance for their properties. Whereas, until 2013, landlords with unfurnished properties can claim a 'renewals basis' allowance for 'moveable items' such as white goods. However, as of tax

Landlords with furnished properties can claim a 'wear and tear' allowance for their properties. Whereas, up to the 2013 tax year, landlords with unfurnished properties claimed  a 'renewals basis' allowance for 'moveable items' such as white goods.

However, this 'renewals allowance' was actually an 'Extra Statutory Concession' (ESC) by HMRC, and so did not have the force of law - in other words, it was an allowance that HMRC gave, but were not obliged to give. As part of an ongoing effort to 'tidy up' the tax system, HMRC have been removing certain ESCs.  

In April 2014, HMRC surprised accountants and tax advisers by specifically disallowing 'moveable' white goods as a tax-deductible expense for unfurnished properties.  

This article summarises the position for furnished and urnished properties:

1. Landlords with furnished property - no change
Almost all residential landlords supplying fully-furnished property (i.e. tables, beds, chairs etc) will claim the 'Wear and Tear Allowance' -this allows a 10% of (net) rent as an annual deduction against rental profits. This is actually very generous as an allowance - and although the ESC has been withdrawn, the allowance has now been passed into law, hence is still claimable as before (the legislation for tax boffins is: Section 308A-308C ITTOIA).

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