UK commercial properties could be owed an eye-watering £70
billion in unclaimed tax allowances, according to a new report by
CA Tax Solutions.

Recent research from Deloitte claimed that almost 90 per cent of
all commercial work space in the UK would be owed a tax rebate for
capital allowances worth thousands of pounds to each landlord.

CA Tax Solutions has called on smaller businesses that are
fortunate enough to own their industrial
units, office space or retail space to investigate as they are most
likely to be owed money. The average rebate is said to be upwards
of £25,000 for each of these properties.

Many commercial property landlords simply do not realise what
they can and cannot claim for a tax rebate. Purchases such as air
conditioning, heating systems, lighting and CCTV systems are all
eligible for rebate.

Mark Tighe, managing director at CA Tax Solutions, believes in
the past accountants had often struggled to find ways of uncovering
capital allowances for their clients.

"Capital allowances are one of the more obscure areas of tax and
for this reason they often pass under the radar of a lot of firms.
And for obvious reasons, the Revenue isn't shouting about it from
the rooftops either.

"A big problem is that many accountants are embarrassed to
approach their clients about the issue, as really this is something
they should have alerted them to years back.

"The truth, though, is that accountants can't be expected to
have the skill-set required to identify capital allowances. The
bottom line is that it's a very tough climate for the majority of
UK firms right now and a cheque from the Inland Revenue would be a
real fillip."

Capital Allowances are claimed via an Income Tax Return and
subsequently it is understandable that small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) in particular enlist the services of a tax
professional before submitting any return via HMRC.

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