Question:
My wife and I own properties split 99:1 (in her favour) in Nottingham. I also solely own a property in London. If I use my car to go on a ‘solely property related’ journey to Nottingham, how is the mileage accounted for tax purposes? Is the cost (40 pence per mile) taken off my tax bill or is it 99:1 in my wife's favour?
Arthur Weller replies:
I believe that since it was only you who incurred the expense, then only you can claim the expense against your share of the rental income. An analogy would be, if A and B jointly purchase a rental property, and A has cash available, but B has to borrow. Only B would claim the interest expense against his share of the rental income. Maybe the answer would be different if there was a bank account especially for this rental property, and the petrol was paid for by the debit card of this bank account.
