How very bloody inconvenient! Not to mention painful.

From The Telegraph:

... accountants say thousands of buy-to-let landlords are sitting on a “tax timebomb”. Many will have to pay two years’ tax liabilities during the next six months, creating a cashflow crisis after years of lightly-taxed income and gains...

Geoff Davies, a partner of UHY Hacker Young, explained:

"Many buy-to-let landlords came into profit on their investments in the tax year that ended on April 5, 2011, after the interest rates they were paying were slashed during the recession.

"This means that landlords could have to pay as much as 24 months’ tax in just a six month period. Tax for the 2010/11 tax year was due by January 31, 2012, along with half of the tax for the current tax year, while the remaining half of the tax for the 2011/12 tax year will fall due on July 31, 2012.

"Baffling though the rules may seem; the painful fact is that HMRC expects its share of the buy-to-let boom; no matter how inconvenient its timing may seem"

H/t Alan at HPC.