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Landlords disclosing buy to let and other property investment profits to HM Revenue & Customs may face waits of up to six months to have their disclosures analysed.

Tax specialist Rita4Rent says helplines and online services set up to assist landlords have been overwhelmed with inquiries following the apparent success of HMRC's Let Property Campaign, launched a year ago.

Last month the Revenue said it was offering landlords one last chance to declare all their rental income - or else take the consequences.

HMRC estimates that up to 1.5 million landlords may be underpaying up to £500 million in tax every year. Under the Let Property Campaign, landlords who may owe tax - whether through misunderstanding the rules or deliberate evasion - can come forward and declare any unpaid tax, although they will have to pay possible penalties and interest.

HMRC says it will use information it holds about property rental in the UK and abroad, along with information already held on its digital intelligence system Connect, to identify people who have not paid what they owe.

This includes cross-referencing letting agents' returns with those of their landlord clients. For investors that fail to come forward, higher penalties - or even criminal prosecution - could follow.

However, Rita4Rent says that disclosure forms known as DO2s, which originally took four to 12 weeks to be accepted, may now take up to six months.

This is because HMRC has changed systems; instead of handling the disclosures in their office in Bournemouth, the submissions are now merely acknowledged by Bournemouth and then sent for full analysis by another HMRC office in Glasgow.

It is then the Glasgow office which issues the final acceptance, and given the huge number of cases, this has led to the acceptance taking up to six months says Rita4Rent.

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