Buy-to-let landlords handed over a record £107 million in unpaid taxes to HMRC during the 2024/25 financial year, as enforcement efforts intensified under the Let Property Campaign. 

The figure—more than double the amount recouped just three years ago—was revealed through a Freedom of Information request submitted by accountancy firm.

The data shows landlords paid an average of £13,713 each in back taxes, the highest per-person recovery since the campaign launched in 2013. That’s a steep rise from the previous year’s average of £9,505 per disclosure, underscoring HMRC’s increasingly aggressive stance on rental income compliance.

Although HMRC’s recovery from buy-to-let landlords in 2024/25 remained broadly consistent with the previous year, it marked a sharp rise from the £65.4 million collected in 2022/23.

Since launching the Let Property Campaign (LPC) in 2013, HMRC has clawed back around £570 million from residential landlords who failed to declare rental income. The initiative targets individuals with undeclared earnings from UK and overseas lettings, offering a window for voluntary disclosure before formal enforcement begins.

Those eligible to make disclosures include landlords renting out residential property—whether it’s a single home or multiple units. This also applies if you let out a room in your main residence and your earnings exceed the Rent a Room Scheme threshold. The requirement extends to those offering furnished holiday accommodation, renting property while living abroad or intending to be overseas for more than six months, and landlords who have inherited property and are now letting it.

Andrew Park, tax investigations partner at an accountancy firm, said: “We’ve assisted large numbers of landlords in making voluntary disclosures over the last few years – typically, after they’ve received an HMRC nudge letter.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government reported that approximately 2.2 million individuals were operating as private landlords across the UK during the first quarter of 2024.

“They [landlords] are often accidental landlords who kept a property after moving to cohabit with a new partner, inherited a property or temporarily moved abroad. Many are not financially sophisticated or in receipt of high levels of other income, haven’t properly understood their responsibilities and haven’t previously sought advice,” Park stated and added.

“There is a widespread confusion about the different tax treatment of capital expenditure and revenue expenditure.”