If so, you should be aware of changes to the capital allowances available on fixtures and fittings in buildings (lifts, heating and ventilation systems, that sort of thing). At the moment, these attract capital allowances under the usual rules (25% reducing balance basically, plus a first year allowance for SMEs - the detail isn't important here). When buying a building, it's almost always best for tax purposes to attribute as much of the purchase price as possible to fixtures and fittings, and as little as possible to the building itself. In fact there are tax specialists who do nothing but that.
From April, that 25% rate falls to 10% reducing balance, with no first year allowance, unless your total expenditure on plant is less than £50,000 for the year, which is probably fairly unlikely if you're in a position to buy a building. For most businesses purchasing premises, the tax relief on the fixtures and fittings is likely to be reduced (well, delayed) significantly. The tax relief on the building itself is being drastically reduced, but that's another story.
Planning points:
1. It's even more important than before to think about whether you can justify writing the costs off to your P&L immediately, rather than relying on the capital allowances system for tax relief.
2. It's also even more important than before to think about exactly when you incur the expenditure - 100% relief via the £50,000 Annual Investment Allowances that also comes in April is much more attractive than eventual relief via the new 10% rate.
As ever, if you think this may affect you, we'd love to hear from you.
