Tax Rebates for Landlords: What You Can Claim in 2026

As a landlord, you're entitled to various tax rebates and reliefs that can significantly reduce your tax bill. This guide covers what you can claim, including reliefs many landlords miss entirely.

---

What Tax Rebates Can Landlords Claim?

Most landlords deduct repairs, maintenance, insurance premiums, letting agent fees, and professional services like accountants or solicitors from their rental income.

You can also claim a 20% tax credit on mortgage interest payments (though you can no longer deduct the interest directly). When you replace furniture, appliances, or furnishings in a rental property, you can claim the cost of the replacement. If your total rental income is under £1,000, you don't pay tax on it due to available property allowances.

These are standard claims. Most landlords miss the smaller deductions.

---

Expenses Most Landlords Forget to Claim

Beyond the obvious costs, these deductions frequently go unclaimed:

• Accountancy fees for preparing rental accounts and tax returns

• Mileage for trips to your rental property (45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles)

• Home office costs if you manage your properties from home (a proportion of utilities, broadband)

• Professional subscriptions to landlord associations like the NRLA

• Certain legal fees related to renewing leases or resolving tenant disputes (not for buying/selling property)

• Advertising costs for finding tenants

• Stationery and phone calls related to your rental business

  
  

These smaller claims accumulate. Combined, they can trim hundreds from your tax bill. But there's a category of relief that dwarfs these day-to-day deductions. Most landlords have never heard of it.

---

Capital Allowances on Embedded Fixtures

Capital allowances are a tax relief for businesses. For most buy-to-let landlords, this is limited. You can't claim capital allowances on residential property the way a business claims them on equipment.

But certain items built into a property qualify: kitchens and bathrooms, electrical systems and wiring, heating and ventilation systems, sanitary ware and pipework, carpets and flooring, fire and security systems. These "embedded" items are often part of the property when you bought it, not additions you made later.

One group of landlords can claim these allowances and typically doesn't: holiday let owners.

---

Holiday Let Owners: Capital Allowances on Embedded Fixtures

If you owned a furnished holiday let (FHL) before April 2025, you may still claim capital allowances on the embedded fixtures you paid for when you purchased the property.

Typically, 20-30% of the property's purchase price qualifies for capital allowances. On a £500,000 holiday let, that's £100,000-£150,000 of allowable deductions, which translates to significant tax savings depending on your rate.

The deadline is 31 January 2026. The expenditure must be included in your 2024/25 tax return. If you've already filed, you can amend it until 31 January 2027.

Once you pool the expenditure in your return, you claim Writing Down Allowances (at 18% or 6% per year) in future years until the balance is exhausted.

What you cannot do:

• Claim on holiday lets purchased after April 2025

• Claim the full amount upfront (Annual Investment Allowance isn't available retrospectively)

---

How to Check What You Can Claim

For general expenses, keep records of your costs and claim them through your self-assessment return.

For capital allowances on a holiday let, identifying and valuing embedded fixtures requires specialist assessment. Most accountants don't claim these because they lack the specialist surveying and valuation expertise. They either outsource it or don't offer it.

---

Summary

Landlords have access to tax reliefs beyond the obvious repairs and maintenance. Most miss smaller deductions like mileage and home office costs. Capital allowances on embedded fixtures are often overlooked, especially by holiday let owners.

If you own a holiday let purchased before April 2025 and haven't explored capital allowances, act now. This opportunity won't last forever. The sooner you look into it, the better.

---

Get Your Claim Assessed

75% of holiday let owners have never claimed capital allowances. Most don't know the relief exists, and their accountants often don't offer it.

At Sedgwick White, we specialise in capital allowance claims for holiday let owners. Here's what we do:

We identify what you can claim. Our valuations use BCIS rebuild-cost methodology to calculate which fixtures and fittings in your property qualify. This is the industry-standard approach HMRC recognises. Typically, 20-30% of your purchase price may be claimable.

We prepare a specialist report. Your accountant uses our report to submit the claim to HMRC. You're in control. Once submitted, tax rebates are usually processed within 4-12 weeks.

No win, no fee. We only charge if we identify qualifying allowances. We confirm eligibility before any claim proceeds, and we support you if HMRC has questions about the valuation.

Ready to find out what you might claim? Answer a few quick questions to get an instant, high-level indication. No obligation, no documents needed at this stage.

See If You Might Qualify

---

Sedgwick White - Tax specialists for landlords, trustees and high net worth individuals. 23 Midford Road, Bath, BA2 5RW. 07792 131898