Landlords Paid HMRC £104 Million in Unpaid Tax Last Year

Tax Queen

Tax Expert @ Pie

3 min read

HMRC recovered £104 million from landlord tax disclosures, from UK landlords with undeclared or underdeclared rental income, including many who didn't realise they owed tax at all. It applies nationwide, wherever you own a let property and file a UK self assessment return, and covers the 2025/26 tax year, based on data obtained via a Freedom of Information request.

Does This Affect You?

If you let out a property and aren't completely sure your tax affairs are in order, yes, this is worth reading. HMRC brought in £104 million from landlords in the 2025/26 tax year through its Let Property Campaign (a scheme that lets landlords disclose unpaid tax on rental income on better terms than if HMRC catches them first).

It's the third consecutive year the figure has topped £100 million. If you're new to this altogether, our essential guide to tax for UK landlords is a good place to start.

The Numbers Behind the Crackdown

Landlords made 11,511 voluntary disclosures in 2025/26, the highest total since 2018/19. The average sum recovered per case was £9,063, a drop from the record £13,713 seen the year before, which points to HMRC picking up a wider spread of smaller, everyday cases rather than only large ones. Since the Let Property Campaign launched in 2013/14, it has recovered £674 million in total from landlords across the UK.

Why More Landlords Are Being Found

HMRC is relying increasingly on data matching, cross-checking Land Registry records against tax returns to spot people who own more than one residential property.

Many disclosures now start with a "nudge letter" (a message HMRC sends when its data suggests you may owe tax, sent before any formal investigation opens). This has widened the net to catch landlords with fairly modest rental income, not just larger portfolio owners.

A lot of those affected are what's known as accidental landlords: people who kept a former home after moving in with a partner, inherited a property, or let out their house while living abroad for a period. Many simply didn't know the rental income was taxable, and if that sounds like you, it's worth reading our guide to rental income tax to check where you stand. With an estimated 2.4 million private landlords in the UK, and only 111,843 disclosures made under the scheme since it began (under 5% of all landlords), plenty of people may still be exposed without realising it.

What To Do Next

If there's any rental income you're unsure was declared correctly, it's worth checking now. Coming forward voluntarily tends to mean lower penalties than waiting for HMRC to find you. Don't forget that you can also reduce what you owe by claiming allowable expenses on your rental income, which many landlords miss. Good record keeping through the year makes all of this far less stressful, which is where reliable self assessment software helps

Sorting This Out With Pie Tax

Pie Tax is designed to take the guesswork out of declaring rental income and filing your return. You can read why landlords choose Pie, see how Pie Tax works day to day, or find out more about the company behind it. Rather than wait for a nudge letter, try Pie today and get your tax affairs in order.

Does This Affect You?

It's the third consecutive year the figure has topped £100 million. If you're new to this altogether, our essential guide to tax for UK landlords is a good place to start.

The Numbers Behind the Crackdown

Why More Landlords Are Being Found

HMRC is relying increasingly on data matching, cross-checking Land Registry records against tax returns to spot people who own more than one residential property.

What To Do Next

Landlords Paid HMRC £104 Million in Unpaid Tax Last Year

Does This Affect You?

The Numbers Behind the Crackdown

Why More Landlords Are Being Found

What To Do Next

Sorting This Out With Pie Tax

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Landlords Paid HMRC £104 Million in Unpaid Tax Last Year

Does This Affect You?

The Numbers Behind the Crackdown

Why More Landlords Are Being Found

What To Do Next

Sorting This Out With Pie Tax