I have a client who had a rental property and made a loss in the 17/18 tax year. He decided to live in the property after this and not rent it out so I did not carry forward the loss on the tax return as he told me he had ceased renting it out for 18/19 tax year. He then decided to rent the same property out again in April 2019.... I am now filling out his 19/20 tax return and am unsure if I can carry forward and offset the previous 17/18 loss against this year's rental profit for two reasons: a) it was not officially carried forward in the previous tax returns and b) he ceased the rental business (albeit temporarily). I cannot get through to HMRC agent helpline and just wondered if anyone knows if I can carry forward and offset the previous loss.
Thank you
