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Compare annual income from your short-let and long-let assumptions, before mortgage payments and tax.
Short-let annual net income
£16,105.50Long-let annual net income
£12,692.31At 237.25 occupied nights and 79.08 expected bookings, short letting leaves £16,105.50 a year compared with £12,692.31 from long letting, before finance and tax.
Example: illustrative zero cleaning and an average stay of 3 nights.
Rates as of
A higher nightly price does not automatically produce a higher annual income. Short letting brings empty nights, platform charges, management costs and bills that may be paid by a tenant under a different letting arrangement. This comparison starts with your own figures. It contains no market occupancy estimate, local price forecast or assumption that a property will attract a particular number of bookings.
Occupancy is measured across a 365-night planning year, so multiplying it by 365 gives expected occupied nights. The London cap limits those nights to 90; occupancy is not multiplied by 90 instead. 50% occupancy means a requested 182.5 nights, reduced to 90 when the cap is on.
The nightly rate excludes the separately entered guest cleaning fee. Platform and short-let management percentages both apply to the guest’s total payment before either fee is deducted. Utilities and bills are an annual short-let cost. For long letting, monthly rent is multiplied by twelve, reduced for void weeks out of a 52-week year, then reduced by the long-let management percentage.
Use percentages as fractions in these formulas. Expected stays equal occupied nights divided by your average nights per booking, so a three-night average gives one cleaning charge for every three occupied nights.
Use £120 a night, 65% occupancy, an illustrative three nights per booking, no cleaning fee or cleaning cost, a 15% platform fee, 20% short-let management and £2,400 annual bills. Leave the London cap off. Compare £1,250 monthly long-let rent, two void weeks and 12% long-let management. These are illustrative inputs, not typical market figures.
With the London cap enabled, short-let net income becomes £4,620. Matching the long-let income would need more than 90 occupied nights, so break-even is shown as not reachable within that limit.
Break-even occupancy includes any net cleaning amount, spread across your average booking length.
The same average stay is held constant when estimating break-even, which is measured across all 365 nights, before the cap. A required occupancy beyond the selected night limit is not reachable, and a zero or negative nightly margin cannot meet a positive income target. Platform and short-let management percentages both apply to guest receipts including cleaning fees.
This is net income after the entered costs, not complete profit. There are no inputs for mortgage payments, insurance, repairs, furnishing, purchase costs, tax, VAT or the value of your time. Long-let utilities are not separately deducted.
The Greater London planning exception generally requires no more than 90 short-let nights in a calendar year and a provider liable for Council Tax. Planning permission is needed outside the exception. The toggle does not verify those conditions, local restrictions, lease terms or permission from a lender.
The furnished holiday lettings tax regime ended from 6 April 2025 for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, and 1 April 2025 for Corporation Tax. Former holiday-let income is now dealt with within the relevant property business. Individual residential finance costs are subject to the applicable restriction; companies have different treatment. The comparison does not calculate those taxes. HMRC also explains that the repeal did not change holiday accommodation’s VAT treatment.
Ask an accountant or tax adviser about limited company ownership, non-resident landlords, VAT registration, carried losses or moving a former holiday let into another use. Ask the council and an appropriate property adviser about planning consent, licensing, insurance or lease restrictions. A positive income comparison does not establish permission to operate or the tax you will owe.
It depends on your nightly rate, occupancy and costs. This tool compares annual income after the entered operating costs, before finance and tax. It does not supply market occupancy. Cleaning income and costs use occupied nights divided by your average booking length. Shorter bookings mean more cleaning charges for the same occupancy.
Check your local planning authority before starting. London has specific conditions for its 90-night exception. Elsewhere in England, whether there is a material change of use matters. Other UK nations and individual properties can have different planning, licensing or permission requirements. A calculator toggle does not grant consent.
The London planning exception generally permits no more than 90 nights of short letting in a calendar year, with a provider liable for Council Tax and other conditions met. More than 90 nights requires planning permission. The toggle caps the model at 90 nights; it cannot establish that a property qualifies for the exception.
The special furnished holiday lettings treatment ended from 6 April 2025 for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, and from 1 April 2025 for Corporation Tax. Former holiday-let income is treated within the relevant property business. Individual residential finance costs are subject to the applicable restriction. This comparison is before tax; VAT and other property taxes need separate checking.
See gross and net rental yield after running costs, void weeks and stamp duty.
See what remains after running costs, mortgage payments and income tax.
Understand mortgage interest relief and compare two tax years.
