Landlords dodging tax?

[Upwind]

Heard on the Jeremy Vine show on radio 2 today that

"In 1999 there were around 73,000 buy-to-let mortgages, today there are around 850,000 buy-to-let mortgages but HMRC says that only around 73,000 people are declaring this income"

I guess those parasites will be an easy target! Goes to show that the moral calibre of this country's landlords is not high.

A landlord will also have deductions, including interest, and management fees. It is possible that landlords are not declaring rental income because they are in fact incurring a loss.

I expect lots WILL be incurring losses, and hoping for capital gains.

Don't you still have to declare a loss though? As part of your tax returns for the business?

Professional landlords may own multiple properties, although probably not 10 each admittedly, and net income may not exceed the tax threshold so no tax return required.

If the house is in the name of a non taxpayer and the income is less than their annual tax allowance you don't have to fill in a self assesment.