New owners and occupiers of commercial properties could be in line for valuable tax windfalls if previous owners failed to claim all the tax relief they were entitled to, says Mike Turner, partner at Bentleys Chartered Accountants.

The capital allowances regime provides useful tax relief on money spent on plant, machinery and integral fittings during the building of new properties and refurbishments, conversions and fit-outs.

Plant, machinery and integral fittings include a wide range of items, including carpets, central heating, fire alarm systems, lifts and CCTV, and the relief can be claimed over a period of several years.

Now Bentleys says that the new owners of freehold properties, or the occupiers of leasehold properties where a leasehold premium has been paid, would be wise to seek expert advice on claiming plant and machinery capital allowances that were not used by the previous owner.

Reasons for failing to claim the full allowances could range from the vendor not having paid enough tax to make it worthwhile claiming or being put off by the complexity of the capital allowances regime. Many leaseholders of retail properties also do not realise that they can claim capital allowances.

Mike Turner says: “Whatever the reasons for people failing to claim, in our experience many property owners and eligible occupiers lose substantial sums as a result of failing to claim capital allowances.

“We can help new owners and occupiers by examining information providing by a vendor in pre-contract enquiries to establish whether it is worth pursuing unclaimed capital allowances.”

For further information or advice, please contact Mike on 01204 388675.