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HMRC has written to me about rental income

Last reviewed 31 August 2026 · How Tax Letters checks its facts

What this letter is
A nudge letter asking you to check whether rental or property income is missing from your tax record.
Who gets it
Landlords whose details in third party data, including tenancy deposit schemes, do not match what is on their tax record. A wave of these letters began landing in August 2026.
Is the deadline legally binding?
Where this letter gives a reply date, the letter sets it, not the law. The deadline section below explains what that means and what ignoring it can cost.
Your options at a glance
Nothing to declare · Let Property Campaign · Amend a recent return
Reply window: set by the letter, not by law

By the date specified in your letter. Recent property letters have not published a standard day count, so the date printed on your letter is the one that matters.

The reply by date is set by HMRC's letter, not by law, and asking for more time is possible.

This wave's letter says plainly what happens next: HMRC may open a compliance check, and anything you disclose during a check is treated as prompted, which raises the penalty range. Responding first keeps you in the better position.

Source: ICAEW, 20 Aug 2026

Why you got it

HMRC receives data from third parties and other sources, including tenancy deposit schemes, and cross checks it against returns.

To check whether you have property income to declare, tell HMRC either way by the date in the letter, and consider whether capital gains or the new Making Tax Digital rules also affect you. The first 1,000 pounds of property income is covered by the property allowance for most people (tax years from 2017 to 2018 onwards).

Holding the letter now? Paste it into the checker for a plain-English identification.

Your options, honestly

Nothing to declare

If the rent is covered by the property allowance, Rent a Room relief, or is already on your returns, tell HMRC that by the date in the letter and keep your workings.

Let Property Campaign

HMRC's standing disclosure route for individual residential landlords. You notify, then have 90 days from the acknowledgement to disclose and pay. It covers single lets, multiple properties, rooms above the Rent a Room threshold, holiday lets and non resident landlords. It is not for companies, trusts, or commercial premises. Source: GOV.UK LPC guide, updated 6 Apr 2026.

Amend a recent return

If the year is still within the 12 month amendment window, amending may be the simplest correction.

For UK property income the usual inaccuracy penalties apply: careless errors range from 0 to 30 percent of the tax when you come forward unprompted, 15 to 30 percent when prompted, with higher ranges for deliberate behaviour. Under the Let Property Campaign penalties can reach 100 percent of UK liabilities, or 200 percent where offshore is involved. Sources: HMRC factsheet CC/FS7a (updated 21 Jul 2026); GOV.UK Let Property Campaign guide (updated 6 Apr 2026).

You may owe nothing

Plenty of recipients owe nothing: deposits relate to a property that is not let for profit, income sits within the property allowance, or everything is already declared. Say so, with your evidence.

If you do nothing

The letter itself warns HMRC may open a compliance check or, in serious cases, a criminal investigation, and that later disclosures are treated as prompted. Normal assessment time limits then apply: 4 years, 6 for carelessness, 20 for deliberate behaviour.

The letters themselves say it: if your health or personal circumstances make dealing with this difficult, you can tell HMRC and they can give you extra support. That is a standing HMRC service, and using it is normal.

Already past the date in your letter? Read this before anything else.

Questions worth asking an adviser

  • How many years does my situation actually reach back, and what would each cost to put right?
  • Is the Let Property Campaign open to me, and is it my best route?
  • What expenses and reliefs reduce the figure before anything is disclosed?
  • Does Making Tax Digital apply to me from April 2026 or 2027?

Keep the date without keeping the worry

Letters like this give a reply window. Put the date somewhere that is not your head.

Want a professional to look at it?

Some letters are worth handing to a specialist, and knowing when is half the value of a check. An adviser will treat what you say in confidence and will not judge how it got here. If we cannot point you anywhere useful, we will say so.

Where to get help

You can deal with HMRC directly, free, without any adviser. If money is tight: TaxAid (low incomes, older people included) and Citizens Advice help for free.

If Tax Letters ever introduces you to a firm, the firm may pay for the introduction. You never pay Tax Letters for it, and it never changes what these pages say. How Tax Letters is funded.

Sources