Property & construction.

We have an established track record in the Property and Construction sectors.

We work with you to understand what needs to be achieved and create a plan to make this happen. We help to structure and give commercial, strategic and practical advice on transactions. We can assist you in forming your negotiation strategy, providing you with an independent view as to what matters in the transaction and help you to achieve what you want to achieve.

We have in depth knowledge of development, investment, trading, main contractor and specialist subcontractor businesses. Our approach is to help you solve problems and come up with ideas. Our contact base means that we can make introductions to a wide range of industry specialists to help you with every step of your project.

Our tax advice is also commercial, strategic and practical and saves you money. We look at what you want to achieve and work out how to do it so that any tax paid is kept to a minimum. We also consider the implications of what you are doing and how that may impact on tax payable in the future.

Key areas that we can help you with:

Capital Allowances (Including First Year Allowances And The 100% Deduction For The Annual Investment Allowance)

There have been many different types of Capital Allowances over the years, Industrial Buildings Allowance, Flat Conversion Allowances, Business Premises Renovation Allowance, and more.

Plant and Machinery Allowances have consistently been the most active type of Capital Allowance claimed, however has continued to evolve and change over the years. Allowances can easily be missed as not just expenditure on specific plant and machinery used in the business can be claimed but certain aspects of buildings can qualify, which was widened by the introduction of legislation on integral features of a building or structure in 2008.

Capital Allowances are all about making sure you are claiming a tax deduction for the costs you incur where you would not automatically get a tax deduction, whether it’s from complicated tax rules or just not identifying part of a building where relief can be claimed. The rates may vary but can be as high as a deduction for 100% of the expenditure incurred.

Land Remediation Relief On Bringing Land In To Use For Development

Land Remediation Relief is a Corporation Tax relief which enables companies to claim an additional tax deduction for qualifying expenditure to help further reduce the companies tax bill, or even claim a tax credit if your company is making a loss – this can actually turn a company paying tax into a company which receives a tax refund.

Where developers or contractors are involved in projects that involve work on land that is contaminated or bringing long term derelict land back into use, there are extra tax reliefs available to claim an extra tax deduction which can be set against profits, or may even result in a tax credit being claimed to secure a cashflow advantage for the business.

The legislation was originally introduced in 2001 and has gone through changes to consider what “land in a contaminated state” is. These are generally contaminants that are present as a result of industrial activity, but is also extended to include Japanese Knotweed, radon and arsenic. The guidelines extend to certain types of flood defence works.

Construction Industry Scheme

The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) regime is not a tax in itself, but a method by which HMRC collects tax at source.

We can do monthly returns to make sure you are compliant with the CIS regulations, whether you are a Contractor or a Sub-contractor, or even both.

Although not a tax, CIS can still cause issues with cashflow. We can help with calculating CIS deductions, recovering deductions made from HMRC either by repayment or offsetting against other tax liabilities. As a subcontractor we can also look to get “Gross Payment Status” so the company does not suffer any CIS deductions.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

There have been significant changes in Stamp Duty Land Tax (‘SDLT’) in recent years, from additional rates for properties over £500,000 bought by companies (including the interaction with the Annual Tax on Envelope Dwellings rules), to the change in the way SDLT is calculated, to the additional 3% charge on residential properties bought by companies or as the non-main residence of individuals.

We have all accepted SDLT as a part of life; it can be quite easy for the SDLT to be accepted and the SDLT return filed as part of the sale & purchase with minimal consideration.

Giving early consideration to how SDLT will apply to your transactions and thinking about this can be structured can save significant amounts of money. It may also be worth checking to see if there are any reliefs that have not been claimed as a worthwhile exercise when you consider just how much SDLT is being paid by your business.