Landlord and property accounting
Accountants for landlords in Edinburgh.
Specialist landlord accounting for Edinburgh — ACCA-regulated, fixed-fee, with a named accountant on direct contact.
Countify for Edinburgh landlords
Local context
that actually matters.
Edinburgh's rental market is the most regulated in the UK, and that drives the tax decisions. The EH1–EH3 Old Town and New Town short-let market was reshaped by the City of Edinburgh Council's Short-Term Let Control Area (in force from September 2022) and the Scotland-wide short-term let licensing scheme (final compliance October 2023): unlicensed Airbnb-style lets now risk enforcement, which is pushing operators back to long-let or sale. EH8 / EH9 around the University of Edinburgh and EH4 near Fettes / Stewart's Melville are student-let strongholds where HMO licensing applies. EH3 New Town and EH10 Morningside attract higher-value buy-to-lets where Section 24 routinely costs higher-rate landlords more in tax than they take in cash after mortgage and management. The 8% ADS bites particularly hard in Edinburgh given average property prices — a £400k second property is a £32,000 ADS bill before SDLT/LBTT even starts. Countify Edinburgh landlord clients almost universally need the incorporation question modelled in real numbers, not in principle.
Sector context
What landlord accounting actually involves.
Landlord tax has shifted hard against personally-held portfolios over the last decade: Section 24 has restricted mortgage interest to a 20% basic-rate tax credit since 2020, the Furnished Holiday Lettings regime was abolished from April 2025, and the Scottish Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) jumped to 8% on 5 December 2024. Higher-rate landlords with leveraged portfolios are now often paying tax on rental income that produces almost no actual cash. Countify models the incorporation question with the real-cost arithmetic (SDLT/LBTT on transfer, ADS exposure, refinancing costs, ongoing CT and dividend tax), files Non-Resident Landlord Scheme (NRLS) returns where relevant, and handles ATED for portfolios held in companies.
How we help Edinburgh landlords
Landlord-specific scope, fixed fees.
Section 24 modelling and incorporation review
We run the numbers on whether moving the portfolio into a Ltd actually saves tax once SDLT/LBTT, ADS, refinancing and CT are accounted for.
Self-assessment with property pages (SA105)
Rental income, allowable expenses, finance cost tax reducer, capital allowances on FHL conversions and replacement of domestic items relief.
Capital Gains Tax on disposal
60-day CGT-on-property returns prepared and filed, including PPR/lettings relief and incidental costs.
Non-Resident Landlord Scheme and ATED
NRLS approval applications, annual NRLY/NRL6 returns, and ATED relief claims for residential property held in a company.
Run the numbers
Calculators built for landlords.
Rental Income Tax Calculator
Section 24 mortgage interest credit, allowable expenses, higher-rate landlord impact.
Stamp Duty & LBTT Calculator
SDLT, Scottish LBTT and Welsh LTT in one place. First-time buyer and ADS supported.
Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Residential vs other assets, £3,000 annual exempt amount, BADR included.
Questions we hear weekly
Landlords FAQs.
Should I move my rental portfolio into a limited company?
Often, but rarely on the simple income-tax-saving argument alone. Once you cost in SDLT/LBTT on the property transfer (which counts as a connected-party disposal at market value), Scottish ADS at 8% on each transferred property, refinancing fees, ongoing CT and dividend tax on extraction, the break-even is usually a higher-rate landlord with a 5+ property portfolio that they intend to retain and grow. Incorporation relief under TCGA s162 can defer CGT on the transfer but is fact-specific. We model it with your real portfolio numbers before recommending.
What happened to the FHL regime in 2025?
The Furnished Holiday Lettings regime was abolished from 6 April 2025. Former FHL income is now treated as ordinary property income: no full mortgage interest deduction, no plant-and-machinery capital allowances, no Business Asset Disposal Relief on sale, no pension-contribution counting. Existing FHL losses fold into the ordinary property business. If you ran FHLs through 2024/25, the final FHL return is the last chance to use FHL-specific reliefs.
Does the Scottish rent cap affect my tax position?
Indirectly. The Scottish private-rented sector rent-cap legislation (Cost of Living Act and successor provisions) limits between-tenancy rent increases in Scotland; it does not directly change tax rules. But if you cannot pass cost inflation through to rent, the Section 24 effect bites harder on higher-rate landlords, which strengthens the incorporation case for some Scottish portfolios.
When do I have to file a 60-day CGT return?
Whenever a UK residential property disposal produces a CGT liability for a UK-resident individual, you must report and pay within 60 days of completion via HMRC's UK Property Account. Disposals at a loss, or fully covered by Principal Private Residence relief, don't need a 60-day return — but most landlord disposals do. We prepare and file the 60-day return alongside your self-assessment.
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Free, no-obligation consultation. We agree the fee upfront — no surprises.
- Expert advice
- Fixed fees
- Fast response