Landlords in the UK are to be offered online training in tax matters from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
As part of the HMRC’s Let Property campaign, the bite-sized modules are aimed at people renting out residential property who have not registered to pay tax, have under-declared their earnings or have under-paid tax.
The online training includes teaching landlords how various forms of property letting are taxed, correct treatment of income and expenditure, record keeping and how to file tax returns.
Laura Pollard, head of HMRC Campaigns, said: “This package has been developed to help landlords get their tax affairs right from day one. They can also use it to keep them on track in the future.
“Landlords who have failed to register with HMRC, or who have under-declared or under-paid tax risk being checked by HMRC.
“If they wait for that to happen, they won’t be able to sort out their tax affairs under the best terms. If they are in any doubt, they should try the training and, if they think they need to bring their tax affairs up to date, they should contact us.”
The Association of Residential Letting Agents, the National Landlord Association and the Residential Landlord Association will also make the training available to their members.
Training will also be made available to other landlord associations by HMRC.
HMRC has started writing to about 40,000 landlords about their tax. Some 2,500 people renting out property have voluntarily contacted the agency to sort out their affairs.