This guide explains how to record your Unused Residential Finance Costs Brought Forward for each property so that the figure is included in your quarterly update to HMRC.

What is this figure?

Since April 2020, landlords can no longer deduct mortgage interest and other residential finance costs from rental income as an expense. Instead, you receive a tax credit (Section 24 relief).

If some of your finance costs could not be used in a tax year because of the restriction, the unused amount is carried forward to later years. The accumulated total from earlier tax years is the Unused Residential Finance Costs Brought Forward.

  • It does not change your day-to-day bookkeeping or your income and expense totals.
  • It is required by HMRC to work out your tax credit.
  • It applies to both UK properties and foreign properties.

You will normally find this figure on your previous year's Self Assessment return or tax calculation (property pages, "Residential property finance costs brought forward"). If you are unsure, check with your accountant.

Before you start

  • Add the property under Setup > Properties first.
  • Keep your previous tax return or tax calculation to hand.
  • This figure is no longer entered as an expense. It cannot be selected as an expense type when you add expenses.

Adding the figure

  1. Go to Setup > Properties.
  2. Find the property in the list and select Tax Settings from its row actions.
  3. A panel opens on the side of the screen.
  4. Under Unused Residential Finance Costs Brought Forward, enter the amount in pounds (for example 1250.00).
    • The field is required.
    • It cannot be negative and can have at most two decimal places.
    • Enter 0 if you have nothing brought forward.
  5. Select Save.

The amount is saved against the current tax year, shown below the box (for example 2026-27). You do not choose the tax year yourself.

Repeat for each property that has a brought-forward amount.

Reviewing and correcting entries

The History section in the same panel lists one entry per tax year, newest first.

To change an amount:

  1. Select Edit next to the tax year.
  2. Change the amount. The tax year cannot be changed.
  3. Select Save.
  4. To back out without saving, select Cancel edit.

Only one entry per tax year

You can have only one value per property per tax year. If you try to add a second value for a year that already has one, you will be asked to edit the existing entry instead.

Removing an entry

Entries cannot be deleted. If a value was entered by mistake, edit it and set the amount to 0.

How it reaches HMRC

When you prepare your quarterly update for a property, the system looks up the figure automatically:

  • The tax year is taken from the start date of the period you are submitting. A period starting in 2026 uses the 2026-27 entry.
  • For UK properties, the amount is sent to HMRC as Residential property finance costs carried forward.
  • For foreign properties, the amount is sent to HMRC as Brought forward residential finance costs.
  • If you have several properties of the same type with an amount for that tax year, the amounts are added together.
  • If no amount is saved for that tax year, nothing is sent for this field.

Always add or check the figure before you submit the quarterly update.

Quick checklist before submitting

  • Each UK and foreign property with a brought-forward amount has an entry for the current tax year.
  • The amount matches your previous return or tax calculation.
  • You have not recorded the same amount as an expense.
  • You have reviewed the quarterly figures and are ready to submit.

Frequently asked questions

I get a message saying a value already exists. You have already saved an amount for this property in the current tax year. Use Edit in the History section to change it.

Can I add a figure for a previous tax year? New entries are always saved against the current tax year. Existing entries for earlier years can be edited, but their tax year cannot be changed.

The figure did not appear in my quarterly update. Check that the entry exists for the tax year in which the update period starts, and that it is saved on the correct property type (UK or foreign).

Do I need to enter anything for self-employment? No. This applies to property businesses only.

Is this tax advice? No. This guide describes how to use the software. Please speak to your accountant or HMRC if you are unsure about your figures.