PIM4030 - Rent-a-room: receipts above exemption limit
Summary
The rent-a-room scheme provides two ways to work out the tax
when receipts are above the exemption limit of £4,250 (or
£2,125 if someone else also got income from the same property
in the same period). The taxpayer can choose which of the following
two methods is best for them.
Method A: paying tax on the profit they make from
letting worked out in the normal way for a rental business (that
is, rents received less expenses),
or
Method B: paying tax on the gross amount of their
receipts (including receipts for any related services they provide)
less the £4,250 (or £2,125) exemption limit.
Method A applies automatically unless the taxpayer tells
their tax office within the time limit that they want method B -
see below.
Once a taxpayer has elected for method B it continues to
apply in the future until they tell their tax office they want
method A. The taxpayer must tell their tax office within the time
limit if they decide they no longer want method B to apply. They
may want to do this where the taxable profit is less under method A
or where expenses are more than the rents (so there is a loss).
For example, a taxpayer may have gross receipts of
£5,000 but their expenses are £6,000 so they have a loss
of £1,000. Unless they opt out of method B, they will still be
taxed on the excess of the gross receipts of £5,000 over the
exemption limit of £4,250; that is, the taxable profit from
letting in their own home will be £750.
Example where method B is better
Florence lets out a room in her own home for £100 a week. Nobody else lets a room in the house. Her gross receipts for the year are £5,200. She isn’t exempt from tax because her gross receipts exceed the exemption limit of £4,250. She has expenses of £1,000 so her profit is £4,200. The excess of her receipts over £4,250 is £950 (£5,200 less £4,250).
- Using method A, she pays tax on her actual profit of £4,200.
- Using method B, she pays tax on a profit of £950.
In Florence’s case, method B is better and she elects for it. The profit of £950 is included in Florence’s overall business computation if she has other rental business income from lettings outside her home. The profit of £950 will be the only rental business profit if Florence has no other letting income.
Example where method A is better
John lets out a room in his own home for a rent of £100 a week plus contributions to the heating and lighting. His total letting receipts for the year from letting the room are £5,200 rent plus £200 for light and heating = £5,400. He has expenses of £4,500 so his profit is £900. The excess of his gross receipts over £4,250 is £1,150 (£5,400 less £4,250).
- John pays tax on his actual profit of £900 if he uses method A.
- John pays tax on a profit of £1,150 if he uses method B.
In John’s case, method A is better. Therefore he either does not elect for method B or, if he has already done so, he tells his tax office that he no longer wants it to apply. The profit of £900 is included in John’s overall business computation if he has other rental business income from lettings outside his home. The profit of £900 will be the only rental business profit if John has no other letting income.
Changing from method A to method B and vice versa
A taxpayer can change from method A to method B (or vice versa)
from year to year. But each time they want to change they must tell
their tax office within the time limit.
Method B will automatically cease if the rent drops below the
exemption limit of £4,250 (or £2,125). The taxpayer will
then be automatically exempt from tax unless they ask within the
time limit for their actual profit or loss to be taken into
account. If, in the following year, their gross receipts go up and
they want to use method B again, they must tell their tax office
within the time limit. Otherwise they are automatically taxed on
the normal rental business basis (receipts less expenses).
Legislation - alternative method of calculation – years up to and including 2004-05
The simplified method of calculation (‘method B’
above) is described in F2A92/SCH10/PARA11, and elections for it are
covered in paragraph 12. The taxpayer can elect for the paragraph
11 method of calculating profits if the total of the 'relevant
sums' exceeds the individual's limit for the year. Any balancing
charge is not counted in the total for this purpose.
Under the paragraph 11 method of computation, tax is simply
charged on gross receipts less the exemption limit, and
- no other expenses can be claimed,
- no capital allowances can be given - F2A92/SCH10/PARA11 (6),
- but any balancing charge is still taxable.
Legislation - alternative method of calculation – for 2005-06 onwards
The simplified method of calculation (‘method B’
above) is described in ITTOIA05/S795 to S798, and elections for it
are covered in ITTOIA05/S800.
The taxpayer can elect for the alternative method of
calculating profits if the ‘total rent-a- room amount’
exceeds the individual's limit for the year. Any balancing charge
is counted in the ‘total rent-a-room amount’ for this
purpose, unlike the F2A92 legislation.
Under the alternative method of computation, tax is simply
charged on the ‘total rent-a-room amount’ less the
exemption limit, and
- no other expenses can be claimed,
- no capital allowances can be given.
Elections
The individual must make an election for the alternative basis
of computation (method B) to apply. If there is no election then
the normal method of calculating profits (method A) will apply.
Once made an election is effective for that and subsequent years of
assessment until the individual withdraws the election or the
individual becomes exempt.
There is no special form. If the taxpayer's return is made on
the basis of method B, that may be taken as an election.
The time limits for making or withdrawing elections, and what
to do about late elections are at
PIM4050.
More than one source
If there is more than one source within rent-a-room, you have to
look at the total from all the sources to determine whether the
income exceeds the individual's limit for the year. You cannot
exempt some sources but treat others as outside rent-a-room.
If the taxpayer does not opt for method B then the profit
calculation is straightforward, following normal principles.
If there is an election for method B and there is more than
one source (e.g. trading income from a bed and breakfast business
and rental income from a lodger), the profits are calculated as
follows:
- divide the individual's limit between the sources in proportion to the gross receipts from each source,
- calculate the profits from each source as the excess of its gross receipts over its portion of the individual's limit.
