If you or your business own a commercial property, the chances are you haven’t claimed Capital Allowances on the “embedded fixtures” that were in the property when you bought it.

At present, only about 5% of commercial buildings in the UK make these claims to their full potential.

It is possible to carry out not just current year or new build CA claims, but also retrospective claims for Commercial Properties owned by both individuals and companies. So even if you or your business has owned the property for 15 years, if the claim is there, it is yours to make!

If there are allowances that can be claimed, most retrospective CA claims can lead to significant tax refunds or at the very least, provide a way to “bank income tax losses” and so reduce future tax liabilities.

However, the rules governing CAs and retrospective claims are changing.

Buried in the small print of the Budget 2011 is the Revenue’s suggestion that the present time limit for retrospective claims is reduced from “unlimited” down to 2 years after acquiring the property.

This means that if you have never claimed CA’s on your commercial property, now is the time to consider it.

We would recommend that only properties which cost over £150,000 when purchased can fiscally benefit, however, it is possible to bundle property portfolios where values are less than this.

We have an independent company who specialise in CA claims and their terms are very favourable – if they find less than £25k of capital on which CAs can be claimed, there is no fee.

Capital Allowances are a right not a privilege – do you know someone else who needs to know about this?

To discuss your potential claim, contact either GILL MOLLOY (gill.molloy@championgroup.co.uk) or JO COOPER (jo.cooper@championgroup.co.uk) on 0161 7032500.