The furnished holiday lettings regime ended for Income Tax from 6 April 2025. A 2025/26 return should not simply reuse the old calculation. Give the accountant property-use dates, gross platform income, costs and any earlier allowances or losses needing review.
Tell the accountant how the property is used
Explain whether you let a room in your home, a whole property or several properties. Include ownership details, personal use and the dates of lettings. Short stays do not, by themselves, establish that the previous special rules continue.
Keep platform and property records together
Download booking statements showing amounts charged, fees, refunds and payouts. Keep invoices for property costs and identify spending that improves the property rather than simply maintains it. The accountant needs to review the substance of the work.
If you had prior-year losses, allowances or other carry-forward figures, provide the earlier return and calculations. These should not be guessed from the latest platform balance.
Check the scope of the service
Tell the accountant about overseas property, shared ownership or substantial services to guests. Different facts can require more work than an ordinary rental return, so agree the service before purchasing.
Example: the first year after the old regime
For an individual’s 2025/26 return, do not simply copy a prior-year furnished holiday lettings calculation. Bring it to the accountant as background, together with current records and details of any carry-forward figures.
Does using Airbnb make the letting tax-free?
No. A booking platform does not decide the tax treatment. Letting a furnished room in your home, operating a whole-property holiday let and providing substantial services can raise different questions.
Should I deduct the platform fee twice?
No. Check how the figures were assembled. If the statement shows net payouts, the accountant may need the gross booking and fee breakdown. Keep refunds, cancellations and personal-use periods identifiable so the final records reflect what actually happened.
Next step: Ask TaxSimba to review your letting arrangement and the relevant tax year. Bring the previous treatment as background, rather than assuming it remains correct after the rule change.
Check the home nation used for your tax calculation
Tell the accountant whether you live in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and about any moves during the tax year. Scottish rates differ for wages, pensions and most other taxable income; savings and dividends use UK rules. Welsh rates are set separately. Use the rules for the relevant year and your actual taxpayer status.
See Scottish Income Tax and Welsh Income Tax. These differences do not make a London address or an England-only earnings example appropriate for everyone.
Bring the old holiday-let schedules to the new return
Illustrative preparation example.
Collect earlier capital-allowance and loss schedules alongside the 2025/26 property records. Do not simply copy the prior year’s furnished-holiday-letting calculation. Changes to the regime can make the history relevant even though the property still has the same guests.
Check: Which earlier balances and claims need review under the post-April-2025 rules?
| Check | Practical action |
|---|---|
| Which tax year is being prepared? | Separate the former regime's years from the post-abolition property-income treatment. |
| Are historical losses and allowances documented? | Bring prior computations so transitional treatment can be checked. |
| Does the booking income reconcile? | Supply gross bookings, cancellations, fees, payouts and private-use details. |
Does listing on Airbnb determine the tax regime?
No. The property's facts and the law for the relevant year matter; a platform label does not preserve the former FHL rules.
Can I discard the old computations after the change?
No. Earlier losses, allowances and asset history may still matter. Keep them with the new year's property records.
Download a checklist for this guide
- Identify ownership and the tax year.
- Collect prior FHL computations and carry-forward schedules.
- Reconcile gross bookings, refunds, fees and payouts.
- Record private use and property expenditure.
- Flag finance costs and assets for transition review.