Solicitors and Barristers

Failure to conduct a Capital Allowances due diligence exercise prior to exchange of contracts may result in a significant loss of tax relief. That is why it is important to get advice from a specialist early on in the process.

Section 198 Elections of Capital Allowances Act 2001

This is the mechanism whereby buyers and sellers of existing property assets that include plant and machinery and integral features can agree a fixed apportionment of the expenditure within the full purchase price to be attributed to these assets. The elected value can be any figure from £1 up to the value of the eligible assets as previously claimed by the vendor, or the price paid for the property, whichever is the lower.

When a Section 198 CAA2001 election is suggested it should be reviewed to ascertain if the suggested quantum of allowances is ‘fair and reasonable’ and to explore any other tax implications for the parties involved. We have often found that vendors or their solicitors simply follow the previous transaction or a corporate policy, without any true understanding of the specific circumstances.

As a leading specialist in property taxation, we regularly advise buyers, sellers and professional advisers on election procedures and the associated implications.

Litigation Support

E3 Consulting can provide technical support during litigation when a client is seeking to recover any tax loss against a professional adviser (accountant, tax adviser, surveyor or lawyer) for negligent property taxation advice. Alun Oliver FRICS has been brought in as an Expert Witness on a number of occasions, to help quantify or comment when a client has underclaimed or missed out on valuable savings due to potentially negligent advisers overlooking time-sensitive tax allowances.

Why not take advantage of our complimentary HealthCheck to find out what you could save, with no obligation. You could be pleasantly surprised. 

"Any major project is enough of a challenge in itself but your professionalism in dealing with the capital allowances recovery was a blessing. The whole process was very slick and simple. Your ongoing support has been particularly helpful. We have successfully recovered allowances as you forecasted and the whole process has been very positive."

Partner, Scott Walby LLP