Author: Matthew Jeffery, Tax Director
Due to the complex nature, a generalist accountant does not have the specialised skill set and in-depth understanding of embedded capital allowances legislation which is required to make this claim.
Whilst your accountant will have claimed capital allowances for you on ‘everyday’ expenditure like cars, furniture, computer equipment etc, they will not have claimed on ‘fixtures’ embedded within the fabric of the building which were acquired with the property purchase such as electrical, heating ventilation and water systems.
This is because identifying the value of qualifying ‘Embedded Fixtures’ within a commercial property and maximising the tax relief available requires a combination of expert tax knowledge and quantity surveying skills. It’s a case of knowing exactly what is eligible to be claimed and how to value it based on HMRC policies and guidance.
Unless a property has been surveyed by a capital allowances specialist like us, there are almost certainly unclaimed allowances available.
As an accountant is unable to make this claim for you, most will advise that you seek expert advice to explore the opportunity of making an embedded capital allowances claim. Some however may at first be hesitant due to common misconceptions they believe are true, such as:
❌ It affects Capital Gains Tax (CGT) if the property is sold in the future…
Claiming has NO impact on CGT or the base cost of the property (TCGA 1992) if the owner chooses to sell at any time.
❌ The business is likely too small to qualify…
Businesses deemed ‘too small’ have been overlooked for too long. These are the businesses we are here to help. If the property or site was purchased for £100,000 it is extremely likely to be worth investigating. Plus, with us, it won’t cost you a penny to find out if you qualify and what you could be entitled to.
❌ It is too expensive with too much work involved to make a claim…
Not with us. We go the extra mile, not only working on a contingency basis with no upfront costs but also providing a free building survey to identify all eligible items that qualify to maximise your claim. Unlike other firms, we also do all the work internally for you, from estimating your entitlement, surveying the property to confirm the full scope of allowances available and preparing a report of our findings to calculating the tax implications and dealing with HMRC queries in the unlikely event that any arise.
To shine a light on the unclaimed tax savings in your commercial property or site, get in touch!
You may also like to read
Article: Embedded Capital Allowances Explained
Article: How does making an Embedded Capital Allowances claim work?
