UK Commercial Property - Understanding the Tax Issues

This course includes:

• Definitions of UK Commercial Property - What counts as residential and what counts as commercial. The tax consequences of designation of commercial versus residential property including the validity of capital allowances and interest relief.

• Trading versus investment. An analysis of the badges of trade which assist in differentiating between trading and investment activities. The implications of trading versus investment are examined. This looks in detail at the income tax, capital gains tax and IHT consequences of the different designations.

 
It also looks at HMRC’s attitude in the designations and the guidance and case law which underpins this.
 

• Capital versus Revenue – an extensive review of the different treatment. In particular a review of recent, relevant case law. This looks at the impact of the accounting treatment as well as an analysis of the expenditure as well as the context of any capital projects.

 
It also looks at the notional expenditure as well as the issues regarding dilapidated property and new tenancies.
 

• Capital allowances – the basic rules and the impact of the hundred percent expensing regime. This will particularly focus on the outcome of recent case law. This has extended the potential use of plant. In the context of potentially unlimited capital allowances, this has become a more critical issue. The impact of the fixture and fittings election is also examined in addition the practical aspects when property is sold is also considered.

• Interest considerations to include rules for deductibility of interest. Property companies have been adversely affected both by the corporate interest restrictions and HMRC’s increased use of the unallowable purpose rule.

 
The course considers the practical issues in terms of interest deductions which have become particularly relevant given the rise in interest rates.
 

• Corporate Interest Restrictions-an outline of the rules and effect on property companies.

• Annual tax on enveloped dwellings – the potential traps. The seminar considers the annual filing requirements for ATED including how to claim exemptions.

 
It also considers the traps for businesses which can accidentally fall outside the ATED exemptions.
 

• Stamp Duty considerations. Commercial Property is normally subject to lower rates of SDLT than residential property. The course considers some of the challenges within the Stamp Duty Land Tax regime and in particular the anti-avoidance mechanisms that have been developed by HMRC.

Redcliffe Training’s property tax courses are delivered by a director of a consultancy company that specialises in taxation, share scheme advice, reward and lecturing. He has developed a specialised share scheme service for small companies and advises FTSE companies on communication.

His lecturing covers most aspects of Direct Taxation but his particular interests include employment taxation and transfer pricing, which poses unusual conceptual challenges.

Previous to this he worked for Henderson for nearly 9 years, leading the Share Schemes team for part of this time.

He took the level 7 CIPD Masters qualification whilst at Henderson. Before Henderson, he was with Australian Mutual Provident (AMP) and helped set up one of the first Share Incentive Plans (SIP) for large companies in 2001. It was so unusual at the time that the Revenue phoned the trainer to find out how they could encourage more large companies to adopt SIP.

This property tax course trainer started his career in taxation and for the following 16 years worked in three of the “Big Four” accountancy firms. He ended up as a Senior Manager with Deloitte & Touche, having worked on issues such as profit-related pay, share schemes, expatriate tax, tax investigations, reward management, US taxation, transfer pricing and corporate tax.

Away from work, the trainer likes cricket, history, skiing, tennis and gardening. He also enjoys giving lectures on history which help keep his presentation skills fresh.

To equip participants with a broad understanding of the taxation rules in respect of income from UK commercial property.

This course concentrates on the tax challenges in respect of UK commercial property.

Whilst UK residential property has been subject to significant changes in tax legislation which have generally raised the burden of tax on residential landlords, commercial property has not generally seen the same challenges.

The course examines the tax issues and opportunities arising from investing in commercial property.

This course is designed for:

• Professionals involved in commercial property transactions
• Real estate agents
• Financial analysts
• Tax advisors
• Lawyers
• Anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the tax implications within the UK commercial property sector

This course looks at all tax aspects of UK commercial property from purchase to sale. It also looks at the statuses of property companies, their ability to claim capital allowances and interest relief.