News

May 11, 2012

Tax rebates owed to thousands of businesses with commercial property

Hundreds of thousands of small business owners could be due a hefty tax rebate from HMRC, according to capital allowances tax specialists, CA Tax Solutions.

It says that any company that owns a commercial building has a high probability of receiving a capital allowances tax windfall to the tune of thousands or even tens of thousands of pounds.

Businesses of all types could be eligible — from fish and chip shop owners, dry cleaners and dentists to grocery stores and estate agents. Research from accountancy firm Deloitte confirms that in nine cases out of 10, capital allowances reports will uncover a tax rebate for the owner of a commercial property.

With about 1.4 million commercial properties in the UK, the numbers are potentially huge. Claims can be made historically and CA Tax Solutions estimates that there is £65bn–£70bn of net tax rebate lying unclaimed in UK commercial property.

To date, the average rebate CA Tax Solutions has generated for smaller UK commercial property owners is £25,000 net and the biggest tax rebate more than £10m net.

It says smaller businesses that own commercial property are most likely to be due a rebate as their accountants will often not understand the intricacies of capital allowances.

Mark Tighe, managing director, CA Tax Solutions, said: "Capital allowances are one of the more obscure areas of tax and for this reason they often pass under the radar of a lot of firms. And for obvious reasons, the Revenue isn’t shouting about it from the rooftops, either.”

• Commercial property taxes