As reported in last month’s SLR, retailers may be able to claim back tax on a number of aspects of their business spending thanks to a changes arising from the 2012 Finance Bill, but knowing where to begin can be the toughest aspect.
by Shaun Murphy
Following the 2012 Finance Bill, Portal Tax smaller retail businesses could claim back tens of thousands of pounds using capital allowances. The 2012 Finance Bill introduced a transitional period which runs until April 2014. If a commercial property is sold within this period then it can be treated in the same way it would have been previously. Before April 2012 you could choose when, and whether, you made a capital allowances claim on your business.
The owner does not have to make a claim for capital allowances before he/she concludes the transaction, but they will have to agree to the fixed value requirement within two years. The next time the property is sold, even if it is the very next day, then the new rules apply and capital allowances must be considered as if it were already post April 2014. Act now If the current owner acts now they can claim the full capital allowances back for themselves. If they do nothing, a future owner of the property may benefit instead.
Portal Tax has helped businesses to maximise any capital allowance claims on their commercial property – on average, £105,000 for each business in outstanding capital allowance for items ranging from fire alarm systems, to heating, to air conditioning. Data compiled by Portal Tax has revealed the top ten items by volume on which tax has been claimed back. You can see them on the table on the bottom left of this page.
Portal Tax estimates that 96% of businesses that own their own properties, or commercial property owners, could be owed a refund. On average Portal Tax has found claimable capital allowances ranging from 15-40% of the purchase price of the property although it depends on the building type and usage.
In one case allowances worth as much as 68% of the purchase price were found so there is real savings to be made. In the current climate retailers such as convenience store owners – in whatever size of business – need to save every penny that they can and, at the moment, most are unaware that such valuable capital allowances are waiting to be claimed. Literally hundreds of billions of pounds are due to retail business owners, but most lack the necessary expertise to make the claim, which can be a complicated process. As we only make a charge if successful, we would urge any retailer owning a business to give us a call as they have nothing to lose and have potentially tens of thousands of pounds to gain.
For more information call 0845 000 0450 or visit www.portaltax.com
