Replacement of domestic items (RDI) relief, previously known as The Wear and Tear Allowance, allows residential landlords to claim tax relief for replacements of certain things in the property known as domestic items.
What are domestic items?
Domestic items include:
- Moveable furniture, such as beds and wardrobes
- Furnishings, such as curtains, carpets, and linen
- Appliances, such as fridges, freezers, and TVs
- Kitchenware, such as cutlery and crockery
Domestic items do not include any items that become part of the house, for instance, fitted appliances and bathroom fixtures.
Conditions for relief
A deduction cannot be claimed if the property is considered a Furnished Holiday Let (FHL) or if Rent a Room relief has been claimed.
For a cost to be considered a replacement, the following four conditions must be met:
- The individual or company must run a property-letting business.
- An old domestic item in the house is removed and replaced with a new domestic item for sole use by the tenant.
- The domestic item must be replaced for the property business to function. If it is not a necessity, the relief cannot be claimed.
- You have not claimed capital allowances on the cost of the new item.
If all four conditions have been met, you can claim a deduction for the cost of the new domestic item.
New domestic items
The cost of replacing an item is only deductible when replaced with one of similar quality.
If the replacement was bought new, this doesn’t automatically make it a higher quality or standard.
For instance, a brand new fridge that costs £400 is not an improvement over a 10-year-old fridge that costs £400 at the time of purchase. In this case, the cost of the new fridge can be deducted.
Suppose the new fridge is far superior quality and much more expensive than the original item. RDI relief cannot be claimed in that case as the cost is considered an improvement (capital expenditure) rather than a replacement.
