Monday 14 February 2011

Take in a lodger or play guesthouse - tax free.

The ‘rent a room’ scheme means you can take in a lodger to live in a furnished room in your home, and it has a special exemption meaning you won’t have to pay tax on the first £4,250 you make each year. This is a huge tax break for most people and really ups the gain. Better still, as a landlord you’ll be expected to ask for a month in advance, which means ready cash comes in quickly.
If you don't want to do it full time, there's a good halfway house too, you can also just play guesthouse. Website Crashpadder allows you to list your spare room online, and take in travellers looking for a cheap place to stay. You can set the nightly cost, undercutting the local hotels, and you might just get to work on your language skills to boot.

How much? With a full-time lodger, you can take home £4, 250 without paying a penny of tax; if you've a desirable property and don't mind paying income tax on anything above this, you could easily add another £1,000.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm currently lodging at someones house so...

Tasty said...

oo.. I'd need to make some money first, so I could afford some extra rooms xD.

Anon Reader said...

My father has done this before.

Anon Reader said...

My father has done this before.

Dudemeister said...

Maybe I'll rent out the shed...

Jordan said...

this is a great idea to make some extra cash thanks

T. Banacek said...

I'm usually the person renting the room.

DBtG5 said...

Yeah this would definitely work better if I owned a place XD

ScottD said...

there is also alot of hassle involved with it so it might not be worth it for everyone.

Bruce said...

or you could squat :P

Rose said...

this doesnt happen in the US much

Stuff that matters, stuff that don't said...

Good idea, however I don't know if id want a random stranger in my house.

Brendan said...

i dont think id want a random stranger living in my house

Jason said...

I still live with my parents so I can't do this

Bdgorsh said...

Not that useful for someone living in a really small town

rocknrollcrazy said...

i think i'm doing that right now, my living situation is renting out a room, i'm hoping to have a place of my own within the next 2 years

G said...

my bro paid for his first house doing something similar to this

Quasar green said...

interesting

Anonymous said...

Being a landlord sounds like a good idea.

my day in a sentence said...

Ugh. I take it this is UK based. :S