Am I permitted to offset my rental losses against other income?

No, rental losses cannot be offset against any other income.

If your total rental income is less than your allowable expenses, you will have made a loss for that tax year. Usually you can only offset this loss against future profits made by the same rental business.

Do you have more than one rental property?

A loss from one property can be offset against another profitable property you own. This is because all your rental properties are considered one business and tax is applied to the total income made. The good news is that your overall loss can be offset against the future profits of your rental business.

If you sell all of your UK rental property, the loss is nullified.

Important note

This does not apply to furnished UK holiday lettings or profits from premises you own abroad. These have their own separate set of tax rules.

Are there any exceptions?

There are very few exceptions to this rule. But if you have very particular agricultural expenses or your loss has been cause by your commercial lettings having extra capital allowances, you should investigate further at GOV.UK. There may be the chance that your losses can be offset against another income stream.

Do I still have to submit a tax return if I made a loss?

Yes, you still have to declare your rental income through a tax return, even you have made a loss overall. This only changes if HMRC inform you in writing that they do not need you to send in a self assessment tax return.