Listed cottages: repairs vs improvements
A huge share of Cotswolds lets are listed or in conservation areas. Repairs are deductible, improvements are not, and on a 300-year-old cottage the line between the two is where a specialist earns their keep.
The Cotswolds is weekend-break country: honey-stone cottages in Bourton and Bibury, converted barns outside Stow, townhouses in Chipping Campden. Beautiful properties, premium nightly rates, and some of the trickiest tax quirks in the country. We match Cotswolds owners with accountants who know them all.
Specialist accountants for honey-stone cottages and market-town lets.
A huge share of Cotswolds lets are listed or in conservation areas. Repairs are deductible, improvements are not, and on a 300-year-old cottage the line between the two is where a specialist earns their keep.
Available 140 nights and let for 70, and your cottage can swap council tax for business rates, often paying nothing under small business rate relief. Weekend-only letting patterns need watching to stay over the line.
Cotswold District and neighbouring councils now charge a 100% premium on second homes. Qualifying as a genuine holiday let is the legitimate way out, and the evidence requirements are real.
Cotswolds nightly prices are among the highest outside London, so the £90,000 VAT threshold arrives quickly. Two strong properties can get there. Planning beats a surprise registration.
The firms we introduce you to cover the lot: pick the bits you need, or take the full service. Either way, one monthly fee agreed up front, never a surprise invoice.
Monthly reconciliation across Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and direct bookings. All your numbers, neat by the 10th.
Once you cross the threshold (or opt in early), VAT gets fiddly fast. TOMS, MTD, the lot, handled by people who do it weekly.
Personal, partnership or limited company: your return prepared, reviewed and filed on time, every time.
Post-FHL, the wins are in the structure: replacement relief, existing allowance pools, business rates, and whether a company now makes sense.
Not sure what you need? Get matched and work it out on a free intro call.
The old Furnished Holiday Let regime ended in April 2025. For individual owners, mortgage interest relief is now capped and new furniture no longer earns capital allowances. See roughly what that means for your tax bill each year.
vs. the old FHL rules, as an individual owner.
A specialist can often claw a chunk of this back: company structures still deduct interest in full, and business rates, ownership splits and replacement relief all remain in play.
Indicative only, not tax advice. Assumes first-year main-pool allowances under the old rules. Your position depends on your circumstances.
Thirty seconds on the form: where you let, how many properties, what you need help with. No documents, no commitment.
We introduce you to an accountancy firm from our network that actually works with holiday lets like yours, usually within one working day.
You get a free intro call and a fixed monthly fee, agreed up front. Like them? Great. Don't? Walk away, no hard feelings.
The rules that shape a holiday let in the Cotswolds, explained in plain English.
The FHL tax regime was abolished from April 2025. Holiday lets are now taxed like ordinary rental properties: mortgage interest relief for individuals is capped at a 20% basic-rate credit, new furniture and equipment no longer earn capital allowances, and the capital gains reliefs that came with FHL status have gone for future disposals. There are still real planning levers, which is exactly why specialist advice matters more now, not less.
90 night annual cap on London short lets
Holiday let accountants in London →2× council tax premium on second homes since April 2025
Holiday let accountants in Brighton →70 nights let per year to qualify for business rates
Holiday let accountants in Bristol →140 nights available per year for business rates eligibility
Holiday let accountants in Cornwall →2× council tax on second homes across most Devon councils
Holiday let accountants in Devon →All Scottish short lets need an STL licence
Holiday let accountants in Edinburgh →£0 rates bill for many lets with 100% small business relief
Holiday let accountants in the Lake District →£0 rates bill for many lets with 100% small business relief
Holiday let accountants in the Norfolk Broads →70 nights let per year to qualify for business rates
Holiday let accountants in the Peak District →182 nights you must actually let to qualify in Wales
Holiday let accountants in Pembrokeshire →All Scottish short lets need an STL licence
Holiday let accountants in the Scottish Highlands →£0 rates bill for many lets with 100% small business relief
Holiday let accountants in the Yorkshire Dales →Not on the list? The network covers the whole UK: get in touch.
Tell us about your holiday lets and we'll introduce you to a specialist firm that fits. You get a free intro call and a fixed monthly quote before you commit to anything.