Financial Times Article

Business owners miss plant tax breaks

Many businesses that have bought their own commercial property are missing out on generous tax breaks available under the capital allowance rules – because they do not know how many items qualify, experts claim.

Portal Tax Claims, which specialises in advising companies about capital allowances, said that most of its clients do not realise beforehand that they can claim for plant and machinery fixtures contained within their buildings – such as lifts, heating systems and certain suspended ceilings.

Jeanette Edmiston, the company’s technical manager, said most companies will be able to claim at least 25 per cent of the cost of their property as a capital allowance, estimating that the amount of unclaimed tax relief ran into the millions of pounds.

“The definition of items that are claimable encompasses a far broader range of things than most think,” she said. “Businesses can often make a real difference to their margins.”