Bookkeeping for an HMO company

Each property is marked as buy-to-let or as a house in multiple occupation (HMO). The books, the categories and the tax figures work the same way for both, and the books show the result for each property.

Rent is recorded against the property. There is no record of which room paid what.

For an HMO you can keep the licence number, the council that issued it, the date it runs until, how many rooms it lets and the most people it is for. All of them are optional.

The properties page says where the licence stands from the date you entered: it runs to a date, it runs out within 90 days, or it has run out. The 90 days is this software's own choice of when to start saying so, not a legal period.

It does not say whether a property needs a licence, or which scheme applies. That is for the council.

The chart of accounts has places for utilities and council tax paid by the company, for example when a let includes the bills, and for safety certificates and compliance, where licensing fees are booked.

Whether a cost is an allowable expense, and which works are repairs and which are improvements, are questions for your accountant. The software does not treat an HMO differently for tax: it works out all of a company's property income and costs as one property business.

The Corporation Tax figures, the micro-entity accounts and the filing pack are made the same way as for any property company, and filed by you or your accountant on the official services. The buy-to-let company page shows how.

A qualified accountant has not reviewed the calculations. Treat the output as a working draft.