WEST SURREY ASSOCIATION PROPERTY AWARDS
We have just been voted for the second year in a row as the winner of the Best Commercial Agency Award at the WSA Property Awards 2011. Our thanks go to our clients who voted for us and their kind testimonials.
CAPITAL ALLOWANCES - ACT NOW OR LOSE THE BENEFIT FROM APRIL 2012
If you own or lease commercial premises, or are considering purchasing commercial premises, you may be eligible to claim capital allowances, which could potentially give you a big reduction in your tax bill. We are working with a Capital Allowances specialist agent who can advise on possible claims.
What are Capital Allowances?
Capital allowances are a form of tax relief that enable the cost of capital expenditure to be written off against the taxable profits of a business. They are given in lieu of depreciation charged in the commercial accounts, which is not usually allowed for tax purposes. They can be claimed by anyone (either property owner or tenant) who is a UK taxpayer and has incurred capital expenditure on buying, developing, refurbishing or fitting out commercial property.
Surely the Accountant would be responsible for anything tax related?
Many businesses assume their Accountants have claimed, but often they have not because of the very specialist nature of the service. Even if they have, there still may be outstanding allowances available, especially from the previous owners. Approximately 85% of Capital Allowances in the UK have not been claimed according to statistics.
So how does one find out?
It is a very simple process. The property owner or tenant completes a simple Client Instruction Form, providing property details, Accountant and Solicitor details. This provides authorisation for the Capital Allowances Specialists to undertake a forensic survey of the property and identify the allowances available.
When should I claim?
At the moment any commercial business that purchased a property at any time in the past, can make a claim. HM Revenue & Customs are currently seeking to introduce an amendment to this in 2011 with a view to this coming into effect from 06 April 2012. It is very likely that this will limit the time that a commercial property owner can go back to 2 years or even 1 year. This will mean that all those who bought before cannot make a CA Claim. Property occupierss need to act now or lose the benefit.
The process
Our agent does not charge a fee to do the initial validation but once you are in receipt of the survey report the fee does becomes payable. They charge a fee of 5% plus VAT based on the amounts documented in the Capital Allowance report produced. Our agent works on a no claim no fee basis so if the claim is rejected or amended by HMRC you would be entitled to a full or partial refund in line with the confirmed claim amount figures.
If this is of interest please contact either Mike or Gary and we can start the process rolling immediately.
NEWS FLASH - Autumn Statement 2011*
The one-year holiday on business rates for small businesses due to expire in October 2012 is to be extended for a further six months at an estimated cost to the Treasury of £210m. The Chancellor believes 500,000 companies will benefit from the tax break, with 330,000 not paying any business rates in 2012-13.
