Good points Loz and thanks for raising them, as they say the devil is in the detail.
as an accountant i'll try and answer some in general form, and i won't charge:D. For arguement sake lets say the monthly renatl is £800 pm (£9600pa). Obviously age pays an important factor and if you are still working and earning a wage. For this we shall take it that you are fed up of UK and wish to live abroad but are in your 50's and don't want to touch your pension or your savings yet.
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Non-resident UK landlords is approximately 25% of the the net monthly rental, ok you may be lucky enough to off set some personal allowance deductions
So you've made £9600 on rental, then deduct your annual costs for Building insurance, 3* gas service, your personal allowance of 4895 and don't forget your partners allowance of 4895, plus deduct any mortgage payments (interest part only). Now we should have brought the tax amount down to zero or even negative, if not put a provision/accrual in for future maintenance, and we should be looking at paying only 10% tax band on the small amount involved.
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Capital Gains tax, charged on the assets the value increases from the date the property was obtained through to the selling of the property.
This is an issue that only arises is you wish to sale the property, there is no bearing on CGT thru renting, and CGT has been covered elsewhere.
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The local authority are going to pay the rental whilst the property is vacant, but, do they waiver the whole of the council tax for vacant property or is the owner/landlord still expected to pay the council tax less the 25% vacant property discount, which only applies if the property is not furnished. And don't forget the water bills, are these meter or standard? a dripping tap in an empty property soon amounts to a large bill if on metered water.
The council are responsible for all utility bills from the start of the contract to the end. You need not pay anything.
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Maintenance, insurance, 3 star cover agreements for landlords certificates etc. the bills are starting to mount and you have yet to receive your first months rental.
Insurance and 3* cover should not total more than £400, if you can afford to buy a place in Turkey then you should be able to rustle up this amount.
Importantly I'm glad you brought up maintenance, this is an area that you should be aware off, the landlord (you) should make real cash provisions (which are tax deductable) for any major repairs, i.e new roof tiling, new windows etc. The good side is the council will get there people to do any major repairs at a cheaper cost than the yellow pages bridgade.
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What of the accountants bills? yes they can save you money but cost you for this service. So unless you are an accountant or yourself fully conversant with the yearly tax demands and numerous forms it is not as plain sailing as first appears.
Flaming accountants, worst than solicitors, taking in consideration of above you should always seek professional advise on any personal money or financial matters. But if they are any good they should get your tax return down to zero and you can even offset there charge against any tax due.
Dipps