Information about potential tax benefits of letting a UK holiday home.
Investing in a Holiday Home
Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh, attracts visitors all year round, and has many peak periods including the Edinburgh Festival and Hogmanay that can attract high rentals.
Tax on UK holiday lettings
If you let out a furnished holiday home in the UK, your rental income may be treated differently for tax purposes from other rental income. However, your property must keep to some rules known as 'qualifying tests'.
Rules for holiday lettings
To make sure your property counts as a holiday letting, it must be:
-
in the UK
-
furnished
-
available for holiday letting to the public for at least 140 days a year
-
actually let as a holiday let for at least 70 days a year (and these must be commercial lets not at cheap rates to friends and family)
The holiday lets must be (both):
-
short term lets of not more than 31 days
-
the only lets for at least 210 days (211 days in a leap year)
Other restrictions
You can't let the property as a holiday let to the same person for more than 31 days in the year.
However, if you meet all the qualifying tests for 210 (or 211) days there are no restrictions on longer lets in the remaining 155 days But these longer lets do not count as holiday lets.
Source: http://www.direct.gov.uk
© Crown copyright
