Agricultural Accountants in Cornwall

Written and reviewed by the Agricultural Accountants editorial team. Last reviewed 27 July 2026.

Cornwall's mild maritime climate gives it early grass and an early growing season: grass-based dairy and beef across the county, and early potatoes, cauliflower and daffodils on the coastal strip. It is also holiday country, so more Cornish farms have diversified into cottages and camping than almost anywhere.

That mix of livestock and tourism income is exactly where the recent changes bite, on the herd side and the holiday-let side both.

Dairy, Early Crops and Averaging

Cornish dairy runs on grass, and both milk and early-crop prices swing, so averaging profits over two or five years is often worthwhile. A production herd can also go on the herd basis. These are the farming-only reliefs, and they are what a specialist looks for as a matter of course.

Early vegetable and flower growers are market gardeners for tax, which brings them within the same averaging rules as the livestock farms.

Holiday Lets After the FHL Abolition

More Cornish farms let cottages than most, and the abolition of the furnished holiday lettings regime on 6 April 2025 changed the tax on all of them: interest relieved only at the basic rate, the holiday-let capital allowances gone, and the trade-style capital gains reliefs withdrawn. Our guide to farm diversification tax sets out what that means, including the nights test that decides business rates versus council tax.

For a Cornish farm where letting is a real part of the income, the numbers now look different, and the whole business is worth reviewing together rather than cottage by cottage.

What we do for Cornwall business owners

Accountants for Farmers

The everyday accountancy for a working farm, done by someone who knows farming, not a high-street generalist.

Farm Accounts and Returns

The annual accounts and return for the farm, prepared from your records and filed on time.

Succession and IHT Planning

Working out the inheritance-tax position on the farm and planning the succession, at the current £2.5m position.

Rural Business Accountants

For estates and diversified farms where the income is mixed and the reliefs need protecting.

Making Tax Digital

The Making Tax Digital software set up and the quarterly updates filed, so the deadlines are not yours to carry.

Common questions

How did the holiday-let changes affect my Cornish cottages?

The furnished holiday lettings regime ended in April 2025, so the cottages are now taxed as an ordinary property business: basic-rate interest relief only, no holiday-let capital allowances, and none of the trade-style capital gains reliefs. It is worth reviewing whether they still work as structured.

Are my early vegetables and flowers treated as farming?

For tax, market gardening is treated alongside farming, so the same averaging rules apply. It is worth checking a volatile early-crop year against a poor one to see whether averaging helps.