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Open it with me · HMRC’s let property letter · August 2026

“Please tell us about your income from letting property”

Last reviewed 10 October 2026 · How Tax Letters checks its facts

A real HMRC letter, from the campaign ICAEW reported in August 2026. HMRC’s words on the left, exactly as published. What each paragraph means on the right.

Letter text: HMRC one-to-many letter on income from letting property, published by ICAEW’s Tax Faculty, August 2026. Square brackets are HMRC’s own placeholders.

The whole letter is shown. Left out: the “OFFICIAL” marking on each page, and the grey note on the first page about the space for HMRC’s standard letter header.

  1. What HMRC wrote

    Our records show you’ve let property in the UK. We’re writing to let you know you may have to pay tax on this income.

    What it means

    Why you got this. ICAEW reported in August 2026 that during August HMRC sent letters encouraging taxpayers to disclose any income from let property and reminding them of possible responsibilities under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

    The letter says you “may have to pay tax on this income”. “May” is HMRC’s word.

  2. What HMRC wrote

    We receive information about landlords from third parties and other sources. These include, but aren’t limited to, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, and statutory returns we receive about ‘Rents and other payments arising from land and property’. We’re contacting a small number of people whose tax records don’t match this information.

    We know tax can be complicated, and we want to help you get it right.

    What it means

    Where HMRC’s information comes from. ICAEW says HMRC explains in the letter that it receives information about landlords from third parties and other sources, including the tenancy deposit scheme, and is contacting taxpayers where this information does not match their tax records.

  3. What HMRC wrote

    What you need to do

    Please go to GOV.UK and search ‘tax free allowances on property and trading income’. This will help you determine which years you need to declare property income for.

    What it means

    What the allowance is. GOV.UK says you can get up to £1,000 each tax year in tax-free allowances for property or trading income from 6 April 2017.

    GOV.UK says that if your annual gross property income is £1,000 or less you will not have to tell HMRC or declare it on a tax return, though you may be required to complete a return for other income.

  4. What HMRC wrote

    If you need to declare any income from renting out land or property, please follow the steps below.

    We’ll monitor your response to this letter so please take note of the deadlines.

    What it means

    Which dates are HMRC’s asks, and which is the law. The dates in square brackets in this copy are placeholders: HMRC fills in its own date on each letter, and that date is its ask.

    Section 9ZA of the Taxes Management Act 1970 says an amendment to a Self Assessment return may not be made more than twelve months after the filing date.

    GOV.UK gives the example that for the 2024 to 2025 tax year you will usually need to change your return by 31 January 2027.

  5. What HMRC wrote

    To make a disclosure

    1. Go to GOV.UK and search ‘Make a Voluntary disclosure to HMRC’. Once on the page, read the information provided.
    2. To make a disclosure, click ‘How to make a disclosure using the digital disclosure service’ on the page and follow the instructions provided.
    3. You should make a Notification of Intent (NOI) by [Date]. We’ll then send you an acknowledgment and a payment reference number (PRN) usually within 30 days.

    What it means

    The notification step, and a date HMRC publishes. HMRC’s disclosure guide says that when you notify, you only need to say you will be making a disclosure, without details of the undisclosed income or the tax you believe you owe.

    HMRC’s disclosure guide says you must disclose within 90 days of the date HMRC acknowledges your notification.

  6. What HMRC wrote

    1. Whilst you are waiting for your PRN, calculate how much you owe from previous years. Go to GOV.UK and search ‘work out your rental income when you let property’. If you are in time to amend your tax return (usually within 12 months), go to GOV.UK and search ‘Self Assessment and follow the guidance ‘If you need to change your return’
    2. Within 90 days of receiving your PRN, go to GOV.UK and search ‘Tell HMRC about underpaid tax from previous years’ to declare your income for all years you were unable to amend your tax return. You should also pay anything you owe, including any interest and penalties.
    3. From now on, to get things right please make sure you declare all rental income on the ‘UK Property’ supplementary page of the Self Assessment return. You may also want to check your eligibility for Making Tax Digital. Go to GOV.UK and search ‘introduction to making tax digital’ for more information.

    What it means

    The step that depends on the date: step four. HMRC’s disclosure guide says income from the year before the current tax year goes on a tax return rather than in the disclosure, and that if you have already submitted that year’s return you can amend it within 12 months of the statutory filing date.

  7. What HMRC wrote

    If you believe you have nothing to declare, you need to let us know the reason by [date]. Please email us at [email protected] or call us on 0300 123 0998, quoting the reference number at the top of this letter.

    For help understanding the risks of responding by email, go to GOV.UK and search ‘corresponding with HMRC by email’.

    What it means

    The step that applies even if you owe nothing. ICAEW says that where a taxpayer believes they have nothing to declare, they inform HMRC using the contact details in the letter by the date the letter specifies.

  8. What HMRC wrote

    Capital Gains Tax

    If you’ve disposed of a property, you may have to pay Capital Gains Tax as well as declaring the rental income. For more information about this, go to GOV.UK and search ‘Capital Gains Tax’.

    What it means

    What Capital Gains Tax is. GOV.UK describes Capital Gains Tax as a tax on the profit when you sell, or dispose of, something that has increased in value.

    GOV.UK says that if you sold a UK residential property and have tax on gains to pay, you can report and pay using a Capital Gains Tax on UK property account.

  9. What HMRC wrote

    Extra support

    If your health or personal circumstances may make it difficult for you to deal with us, please tell us. We’ll help you in whatever way we can. For more information, go to GOV.UK and search ‘get help from HMRC if you need extra support’.

    What it means

    This is an offer of help, and a team exists for it. GOV.UK says you can get extra support from HMRC if your health condition or personal circumstances make it difficult when you contact HMRC.

    GOV.UK says you can get an appointment with the extra support team by asking your adviser when you call an HMRC helpline, using the extra support team webchat service, or using British Sign Language or an online form for home visits.

  10. What HMRC wrote

    If you don’t respond to this letter by [date]

    We may open a compliance check or a criminal investigation into your tax affairs. For more information, go to GOV.UK and search ‘CC/FS1a’.

    We’ll treat any disclosures you make during an investigation as ‘prompted’. This means we may charge penalties of up to 100% of the additional tax, doubling what you owe.

    What it means

    What a compliance check is, and what “prompted” means. HMRC’s factsheet CC/FS1a says a compliance check lets HMRC check your tax position: that you are paying the right amount of tax at the right time and getting the right allowances and tax reliefs.

    HMRC’s factsheet CC/FS7a calls it an unprompted disclosure when you tell HMRC about an inaccuracy before you have any reason to believe it has discovered it, or is about to, and a prompted disclosure at any other time.

    CC/FS7a says the minimum penalty for an unprompted disclosure is lower than the minimum penalty for a prompted one.

  11. What HMRC wrote

    More information

    Go to GOV.UK and search:

    • ‘CC/FS7a’, for penalties for inaccuracies in returns or docs
    • ‘CC/FS11’, for penalties for failure to notify
    • ‘CC/FS18a’, for penalties for failure to file returns on time
    • ‘CC/FS9’, for more about your rights when making a disclosure.

    If you have a professional adviser or someone else who helps you with your tax affairs, you may want to show them this letter.

    What it means

    The factsheets HMRC names. The links beside the paragraphs above lead to the factsheets this walk-through draws on. The letter names others, which are found the same way on GOV.UK, by the code printed in the letter.

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