Nearly six out of ten landlords (58%) saw an increase in their 2017-18 tax bill, according to Paragon’s PRS Trends Report for Q1 2019, which tracks the opinion and experience of over 200 landlords across the UK.

Landlords with three or more properties were more likely to report an increase in their 2017-18 tax bill than those with smaller portfolios, with an average annual increase in tax of £3,039 for those reporting a rise.

While over 60% of landlords confirmed that the change in their 2017-18 tax bill was as expected, one third (33%) said it was either a little or a lot more than expected. Almost half of landlords (49%) who reported a higher than expected increase said they would make changes to their portfolio as a result, with the most popular measures including selling property (24%), increasing rent (20%) and reducing borrowing (19%).

Mortgage interest tax relief for buy-to-let landlords is being phased out over a four-year period and replaced with a basic rate tax credit. In the 2017-18 tax year, landlords could deduct 75% of mortgage interest costs from rent. This was reduced to 50% in 2018-19. It will fall to 25% in 2019-20 and then to zero.