Up to recently, landlords were not entitled to a tax deduction for pre-letting expenses such as mortgage interest, insurance and repairs incurred before the date a property was first let out.
To encourage owners of vacant residential properties to offer those properties for rent, Finance Act 2017 has introduced a new tax deduction for pre-letting expenses of a revenue nature incurred on a property that has been vacant for a period of 12 months or more.
The pre-letting expenses are now given as a deduction against rental income from that property in the first year it is let out.
Conditions
The property in question must have been vacant for a period of at least 12 months prior to its first letting during the period 25 December 2017 and 31 December 2021.
The expenditure must have been incurred in the 12 months before the property was let out and a cap of €5,000 per vacant property applies.
Claw Back
Where the landlord
- ceases to let the property as residential premises or
- sells the property
within 4 years of the first letting, this tax deduction will be clawed back in the year the property ceases to be let by the landlord.
If you have any questions about pre-letting expenses or other rented residential property queries, please contact Eddie Murphy, Partner and Head of Tax Services.