Landlord allowable expenses
You can claim costs that are wholly and exclusively for letting the property: repairs, insurance, letting fees, services and replacing furnishings. Mortgage interest isn’t one of them: it goes in box 44, and reduces your tax at the basic rate instead.
Checked against GOV.UK by Cristiano Betta, who makes Tillslip, on : Working out your rental income, SA105 and its notes, 2025–26, How finance cost relief is worked out, Replacement items and Rent a Room (PIM3210).
| What goes in it | For example | Box |
|---|---|---|
| Property income allowance | Up to £1,000 tax-free, instead of claiming any expenses | 20.1 |
| Rent, rates, insurance and ground rents | Landlord and contents insurance, ground rent, Council Tax and water rates you pay | 24 |
| Property repairs and maintenance | Plumber, boiler service, decorating, damp treatment, roof repairs | 25 |
| Non-residential property finance costs | Loan interest on a commercial let | 26 |
| Legal, management and other professional fees | Letting agent, eviction fees, renewing a short lease | 27 |
| Costs of services provided, including wages | Cleaning, gardening, communal hot water | 28 |
| Other allowable property expenses | Phone, stationery, business travel | 29 |
| Costs of replacing domestic items | A like-for-like fridge, sofa, carpet or bed | 36 |
| Residential property finance costs | Mortgage interest and loan arrangement fees | 44 |
Repair or improvement?
A repair puts something back as it was, and you claim it against the rent. An improvement, such as an extension or a new kitchen where there wasn’t one, is a capital cost: you can’t claim it against rent, but keep the receipt, because it can reduce Capital Gains Tax when you sell.
Replacing something with its nearest modern equivalent still counts as a repair, such as double glazing for single.
Replacing furniture and appliances
Box 36 covers replacing a domestic item in a let home, such as a fridge, sofa, carpet or bed, when the old one is no longer there for the tenant. You can’t claim the first one you put in.
If the new item is better than the old, claim what a like-for-like replacement would have cost. A reasonable modern equivalent, such as a more efficient fridge, counts in full. It doesn’t apply to rent you claim Rent a Room relief on.
Mortgage interest goes in box 44
Interest on a mortgage or loan for a residential let, and the fees for arranging it, aren’t deducted from your rent. Put the total in box 44: HMRC reduces your Income Tax by 20% of the lowest of your finance costs, your property profit and your income above the Personal Allowance. Whatever that leaves unrelieved is carried forward to later years, in box 45. The capital you repay is never claimable.
Interest on a commercial let is still an ordinary expense, in box 26.
Travel and mileage
Journeys solely for the letting, such as to inspect the property or meet a tradesperson, are claimable. Put them in box 29, either as the business share of running a vehicle or as a mileage rate: the mileage calculator works out the second, at the rates for trips from 6 April 2026.
The £1,000 property allowance
The first £1,000 of property income a year is tax-free. If you use the allowance (box 20.1), you can’t claim any expenses against that income, so it only helps when your costs are under £1,000.
One box for everything
If your property income before expenses is under £90,000, you can add up the expenses for boxes 24 to 29 and put the total in box 29. Mortgage interest still goes in box 44, and replacing domestic items in box 36. You still need the receipts behind it.
Tillslip sorts these for you
Snap the receipt and it’s filed under that property, in the right SA105 box, with totals for the year and each quarter.
Also: Mileage calculator