The introduction of the “Bed Room Tax”* by the Government in 2013 left many people worse off, facing the prospect of having to move out of their home into non-existent smaller accommodation with all the upheaval, stress and disruption that entails or to somehow manage to get by on a reduced income. However due to a little known government scheme it’s possible to stay where you are and actually increase your income! This crazy life hack which they don’t want you to know about, revives an old-fashioned method of turning empty rooms into Tax Free income! Now obviously as it’s tax-free you’ll have to ask yourself some hard questions about how you feel about tax avoidance and if you’re really paying your fair share. But if you want to go ahead with it from today the Government has increased the amount of tax free money you can make from a paltry £4,250 to £7,500 per year.
What is this crazy scheme that the Government have been keeping quiet? It’s so simple and old school it’s positively Victorian (which is probably why the Government hasn’t scrapped it) – you simply rent the room! Yep that’s all there is to it, change that spare room into a source of tax free income by taking in a lodger. As long as you don’t charge more than £144 a week you don’t even have to fill in any paper work! You’ll need a simple lodger agreement fortunately there are loads on the web you can download such as from Crisis, Rocket Lawyer or the Welsh Local Government. There are also some Excellent websites out there to help guide you through the process.
Of course the tricky bit is finding a suitable Lodger to rent you’re spare room to but fortunately apart from the traditional note in the window/news agents in this day and age there’s web site to help. So there you go a crazy way to defeat the bedroom tax and help get people off the street whilst putting more money in your own pocket! No wonder they don’t want anyone to know.
N.B. This is not a legal advice site, I’m not offering any legal advice, go and read the links before taking in a lodger. Hell get independent advice. However the paperwork is minimal, it is tax-free, and if you can rent to someone you know it’s really not a hassle.
* It is worth noting that the “Bedroom tax” isn’t a tax at all but merely a cap in benefits. However penalizing people for not moving into smaller accommodation which doesn’t exist isn’t exactly ethical nor clever.
