Planning, Building Regs and the Tax Trap

Permissions, regulations and trading income versus capital gains

The most expensive misunderstanding in flipping is believing your profit is a capital gain, when in most cases HMRC treats it as trading income taxed as ordinary earnings. This book explains that tax trap and the other half of every flip: permissions, building regulations, contracts, insurance and safety. It shows how several bodies of law apply independently, and why a flip without proper planning and building control sign-off can be slowed, discounted or abandoned by a careful buyer's solicitor. You will see what the building contract and the other agreements around a flip must contain, the insurance a refurbishment needs and your safety duties as the person commissioning the work. The tax chapter sets out the trap in detail and how to choose a structure. A checklist runs from before you buy to after you sell, and the final chapter shows in concrete terms what the mistakes cost. Next in this series: “Flipping as a Business”.

What’s inside

• The legal framework of flipping, in plain English
• Permissions, planning and building regulations
• The contracts, and what must be inside them
• Insurance, safety and your legal duties on site
• The tax trap: trading income versus capital gains, and choosing a structure
• Your compliance checklist
• Getting this wrong: what it actually costs

Educational material only, not financial, legal or tax advice. Results are not typical and are not a guarantee of income. Freedom Property Academy LTD, registered in England and Wales.