Landlord Tax Schemes

Why are you reading this? 

You are a landlord who participated in a buy-to-let tax planning arrangement. You likely did this on advice and may have participated in schemes promoted by Property 118 (In Association with Cotswold Barristers) and Less Tax for Landlords (the Schemes) or similar such schemes. You can find links to more detailed analyses of the Schemes and promoters below.

HMRC is challenging the Schemes and has been sending out letters to landlords like you explaining that the advice you received may be deficient. In our view, the Schemes almost most certainly do not produce the tax outcomes that they claim to. 

How can we help you?

We understand that HMRC is now investigating and challenging aspects of the Schemes as far back as 2017/18. If you are reading this, and participated in either or both of the Schemes, it is highly probable that you are affected. 

Among other things, HMRC seems to be investigating the failure by Property 118 and Less Tax for Landlords to disclose the respective Schemes under the DOTAS regime as well as the avoidance of Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax, and mortgage interest relief restrictions by individual landlords. In all these instances, there would be associated interest and penalties to consider. We can assist you and advise you on all aspects of your position opposite HMRC. 

Where you relied on professional advice to enter into the Schemes or similar schemes, you may have a claim for professional negligence against your former advisers and should be considering your options now (before the strict time limits for bringing a claim pass).

Participation in the Schemes or similar may have exposed landlords like you to:

· Professional costs of having to reach a resolution with HMRC.

· Potential interests and penalties payable to HMRC.

· Potentially additional tax payable to HMRC (that would never otherwise have been due).

We are market leaders in tax professional negligence matters and we can assist you. The legal directories describe that we have an "impressive multidisciplinary approach to very complex tax-related professional negligence litigation".

By pursuing a professional negligence claim, we can seek to recover these losses for you which we understand are often measured in the tens of thousands of pounds and can exceed a hundred thousand pounds per client. We can also seek to recover the set-up fees that you paid to the relevant advisers to set up the Schemes.  

Next steps

We are currently building a group action to assist those impacted to resolve any outstanding issues with HMRC and to seek recourse against the professional advisers who introduced the scheme to them. 

By structuring this claim as a group action, we plan to make it affordable and proportionate for you to seek compensation and to resolve any outstanding issues with HMRC.   

Important links

• Fieldfisher Contentious Tax team - recent landmark success
• Property 118 Scheme
• Less Tax for Landlords Scheme
• HMRC's Guidance on Property Business arrangements involving hybrid partnership 

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