Property Tax Planning

Andrew Crossman is a Tax Partner at BDO LLP, specialising in real estate taxation matters, including tax due diligence, inbound and outbound investment structures, HMRC enquiries and stamp taxes. Andrew is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Part A Property Investors
1 Acquisition of a property through a non-UK resident company
2 Property ownership through a non-UK resident trust
3A Relief for finance costs incurred by individuals, trustees and non-UK resident investment companies
3B Finance costs for UK property investment companies
4 Repairs, renewals and improvements
5 Stamp duty land tax
6 Capital allowances on plant and machinery
7 Capital allowances on specialised buildings
8 Holding investment property through a company
9 Premiums received
10 Letting as a trade
11 Capital gains planning: properties held at 31 March 1982
12 Capital gains planning: the indexation allowance
13 Capital gains planning: deferring a sale
14 Capital gains planning: selling the company rather than the property and the further possibility of selling to a UK REIT
15 Enterprise Investment Scheme deferral relief and Seed EIS CGT Exemption
16 Planning for losses: capital losses and surplus management expenses
17 Planning for losses: transfer of property to a dealing company
18 VAT planning for property investors
Part B Property Dealers and Developers
19 Tax relief for reductions in property values
20 Reclassification of trading stock as investment property
21 Tax planning on the transfer of trading stock
22 Tax relief for finance costs
23 Acquiring a trading company with tax losses
24 Selling shares in a property trading company and anti-avoidance provisions
25 Construction Industry Scheme
26 VAT points for property developers
Part C Trading Premises
27 Premium relief on the acquisition of a short lease
28 Tax relief for finance costs
29 Capital allowances on plant and machinery
30 Capital gains planning: replacement of business asset (‘roll-over’) relief
31 Capital gains tax planning: entrepreneur’s relief for individuals and trusts
32 Capital gains planning for companies: exemption for sales of substantial shareholdings
33 Tax-free statutory compensation
34 Construction Industry Scheme
35 VAT and trading premises
Part D Private Residences
36 The capital gains tax, ATED and SDLT regimes for residential property
37 Motive for acquisition of a residence
38 Main residence election where more than one property is owned
39 Land and buildings included with a residence – maximising the exemption
40 Converting, reconstructing or refurbishing a main residence
41 Main residence: taking advantage of the exemption for the last 18 months of ownership
42 Temporary absences: preserving the exemption
43 Taking advantage of the exemption on let property
44 Main residences: periods before 31 March 1982
45 Rent a room: income tax exemption on part letting of a main residence
46 Expense deductions for business use of home
Appendices
Appendix I Items of Expenditure on Buildings and Structures Qualifying and Non-Qualifying as Plant/Integral Features (CAA 2001, Part 2, Chapter 3)
Appendix II Construction operations for the purposes of the Construction Industry Scheme