Taxation - double glazing

Many landlords will look to update their buy-to-let property at some stage by replacing the existing wooden glazing with UPVC windows and doors.

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Up until recently HMRC considered the replacement of single glazing with double glazing as an improvement and therefore not allowable as a revenue expense. Landlords would however be able to include the costs within their capital costs when it came to selling their investment property and working out their likely CGT liability.

However, the HMRC have conceded that now replacement by UPVC is a repair and should be treated as a revenue expense.

In there own words:

Generally, if the replacement of a part of the ‘entirety’ is like-for-like or
the nearest modern equivalent, we accept the expenditure is allowable revenue
expenditure.

For more details on a landlords allowable deductions landlords should go to this section of the HMRCs website.

Therefore by offsetting this cost against their revenue a landlord reduces their potential income tax liability which for many landlords has increased substantially as interest costs have fallen.