Sub-letting rooms in a house - tax implications?

antiskeptic

Hi..

Suppose I was to rent a 4 bed house from a landlord for £1200 per month and went on to sublet the 3 spare bedrooms for (for the sake of argument, £500 each).

Are there income tax implications for me? Are there declarations I need to make to the tax man even if I won't have to pay income tax? Do I need to register with any government agency in order to be able to do this? Are there any other issues that you know of that render me responsible/liable to the government in any way?

Thanks in advance..

sharper

It's extremely unlikely you'll rent the rooms collectively for more than you're paying the landlord. Simply put them on the lease, divide up the rent evenly and then there are no tax implicatons for you whatsoever since the money is going to go to the landlord.

The more people you're sharing with the less people expect to pay for obvious reasons. In the current market 500 isn't that far off a single bed apartment and that's what you're competing with.

antiskeptic

sharper wrote: »

It's extremely unlikely you'll rent the rooms collectively for more than you're paying the landlord. Simply put them on the lease, divide up the rent evenly and then there are no tax implicatons for you whatsoever since the money is going to go to the landlord.

The more people you're sharing with the less people expect to pay for obvious reasons. In the current market 500 isn't that far off a single bed apartment and that's what you're competing with.

Thanks Sharper.

The figures are notional for the purposes of investigating the tax consequences.

Suppose for a moment that a landlord doesn't want the hassle of finding new tenants every time someone in 4 bed house moves on. And so they let to one person at reduced rate, letting the that person sub-let and make some money for doing so.

I would have thought income of any description means you would have to have some dealings - if only making a tax return regarding that income - with Revenue.

N'est ce pas?

sharper

You might be able to put the income down under the rent a room scheme. It's usually for people who own their own place but it might apply to you. The best thing to do is ring the revenue and see what they say.