Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.

Landlords Pay £104m in Unpaid Taxes Amid HMRC Crackdown

Landlords paid £104 million in unpaid taxes during the 2025/26 tax year as HMRC intensified its efforts to identify small-scale property investors with undeclared rental income. The number of voluntary disclosures made by landlords to HMRC rose to 11,511 in 2025/26, the highest figure since 2018/19.

According to data obtained by chartered accountancy firm Price Bailey through a Freedom of Information request, this is the third consecutive year that HMRC has generated over £100 million from voluntary disclosures of unpaid liabilities via the government’s Let Property Campaign. The average tax recovered per disclosure fell to £9,063, down from the previous year’s record of £13,713.

The figures represent tax recovered from voluntary disclosures under the Let Property Campaign, which has netted £674 million since its launch in 2013/14, as well as from other compliance activities such as HMRC’s non-responder and discovery assessment work.

Price Bailey noted that HMRC is increasingly using Land Registry data to identify individuals who own multiple residential properties and may have undeclared rental income. Most voluntary disclosures are now prompted by HMRC nudge letters, and there is a trend towards a larger number of smaller cases.

For letting agents and inventory clerks, these developments highlight the importance of ensuring that landlords are aware of their tax obligations and the potential consequences of non-compliance. The ongoing HMRC crackdown may affect landlords with modest rental income, including those who may not realise they have taxable profits to declare.