Capital Allowance Claims: Myth Busting Misconceptions
There are a lot of myths and misconceptions out there about Capital Allowances, and they can often put business owners off making a claim.
Within a commercial property valued at £750,000, there may be as much as £240,000 in unclaimed Capital Allowances. For a property owned by an individual that equates to a tax refund or future saving of as much as £96,000.
That’s a huge amount to miss out on because of a misconception or myth you may have heard.
So we’re here to clear up some of the common misconceptions around Capital Allowance claims once and for all and give you the confidence to start your claim.
Myth: I can’t claim because I don’t know how much I spent improving my property
Truth: You do not need to know how much you spent on improving your commercial property. Our expert team can allocate costs to each item of expenditure using recognised costing breakdowns.
Myth: My Accountants will have claimed for this
Truth: You may be sure that your accountant will have already done a claim but in a lot of cases, this is not a reasonable expectation. An Embedded Capital Allowance claim is technical process and requires a high level of understanding of what can be claimed and what HMRC wants to see in a claim. Read more about why your accountant may not have done a claim.
Myth: We are out of time to make claim
Truth: It is always worth checking with a specialist company whether there are claims that you have missed. We only charge on success, so you have nothing to lose and a lot potentially to gain.
Myth: We make a loss so we cannot benefit from making a claim
Truth: You may not have paid Income Tax or Corporation Tax in the last year or 2 but you may be able to reduce your tax burden in the next few years. We only charge on success, so you have nothing to lose and a lot to potentially gain.
Myth: Making a Capital Allowance Claim will increase my Capital Gains Tax (CGT) bill when I sell
Truth: It may seem counter-intuitive, but this is almost never the case. A capital allowance reclaim almost never decreases the buildings’ base cost for CGT purposes. This is confirmed by s41(1) TCGA 1992.
Myth: The previous owner claimed so I can’t
Truth: This is not always the case. Allocations made on the sale of a property may not reflect the true value of claimable fixtures and fittings within the building. They are generally made for the purposes of Stamp Duty and as such can be “rough and ready” or inaccurate. It is always worth checking with a specialist company whether there are claims that have been missed. We only charge on success, so you have nothing to lose and a lot potentially to gain.
Start your claim
If you would like to arrange a free, no-obligation consultation online or in-person, just contact us however you feel most comfortable and we will be in touch to get the ball rolling. We don’t do the hard sell; we just want to know as much as we can in order to help you as much as we can.
How do I get started?
Just contact us however you feel most comfortable and we will be in touch to get the ball rolling.