HMRC targets Airbnb hosts

By Debbie Franklin, Director of Tax and property tax specialist

As part of its Let Property campaign, HMRC has been sending 'nudge' letters to those who it suspects have not been declaring all of their rental income. Recently it seems that HMRC has taken a tougher approach, and is targeting those in the short-term rental market.

It was recently made known that the Airbnb booking platform was compelled to provide HMRC with income data for all of its UK-based hosts dating back to the 2017/18 tax year. If the information provided by Airbnb is not consistent with the income declared on a person's tax return, that person could face a discovery assessment and penalties.

If you think you may have underdeclared your property income, now is the time to act; you can make a disclosure under HMRC's Let Property campaign which offers favourable terms and reduced penalties for making a disclosure.

Information about the campaign can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/let-property-campaign-your-guide-to-making-a-disclosure/let-property-campaign-your-guide-to-making-a-disclosure