Landlords could face a new tax this autumn

Rachel Reeves has advised that landlords could have another tax to pay this autumn as the Treasury decide on whether or not to extend national insurance (NI) contributions to rental income. The reason for this potential change is due to a £40 billion shortfall in public finances.

Despite the Chancellor stating that she would not increase the rates of VAT, income tax, or national insurance, there is now a possible loophole of adding NI to income received through property. This would not be shown as a rate rise, but as an expansion of the tax base.

At present, NI contributions are not charged on property, savings, or pension. Calculations by Treasury officials show that by extending the charge to rental income, they would have raised over £2 billion in 2022-23.

This policy would not fall fairly across the landlord market. Figures show that 360,000 landlords have an income of £50,000 to £70,000 (the most common bracket for property income). This group would expect to pay an average additional cost of approximately £1,000 per annum. Landlords with a larger portfolio will still be impacted, but as NI contributions drop to 2% above £50,000, they will be disproportionately affected.