The Property Tax team has decades of experience advising individuals, business owners and charities on all areas of UK tax relating to UK and foreign property from initial purchasing, ownership structures, re-structuring and exit planning.
A personalised approach
Property Tax affects everyone, whether you’re a private individual, a trading business, an investor or a developer. Whether you work directly in the property sector or in a business that supports it, property tax issues influence us throughout different stages of our personal and business life cycles. We can assist you with navigating the complexities of property taxation, and where appropriate maximise reliefs that are available to you, whether that’s in acquiring or selling a property to complex restructuring of your property portfolio.
We can cover all areas of tax and VAT and have specialist expertise in HMRC disclosures and enquiries.
Understanding Property Tax
Our service can be tailored to suit you and can comprise all or any of the following:
Transactional support
We can provide transactional support whereby we will:
- Review contracts, CPSEs and standard enquiries to ensure that there are suitable and robust tax warranties in place.
- Review ownership structure and advise on any beneficial restructuring for long term tax efficiency and planning.
- Undertake tax due diligence on large residential and commercial property transactions and share purchases etc
Bespoke tax planning
To ensure clients are able to make fully informed decisions, we can undertake a full review of their affairs and offer a written advice outlining the tax implications of the proposed transactions and, where relevant, offer alternative structures. Property taxation in the UK involves various taxes and regulations that can significantly impact property owners, investors and businesses.
Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings ('ATED')
ATED is a tax levied on companies (and partnerships with corporate members) that own UK residential properties with values of more than £500,000. ATED is often overlooked and can be costly. We can advise you on your exposure to ATED and can consider alternative arrangements to avoid the charge.
Stamp Duty Land Tax ('SDLT')
We can provide bespoke SDLT advice for residential and commercial transactions for both freehold and leasehold transactions to ensure that the correct SDLT position is calculated. We have experience supporting clients to ensure that relevant SDLT reliefs are claimed and the basis for the claims are supported with relevant tax case law.
Capital Gains Tax ('CGT')
In addition to helping prepare 60-day CGT returns, we can also provide advice regarding private residence relief, including advice regarding the lesser-known deemed periods of occupation, which can result in significant tax savings.
We can also advise on the post April 2023 rule changes concerning the availability of the interspousal CGT nil gain / nil loss transfers for divorcing couples.
Capital allowances
Capital allowances are a form of tax relief available to businesses on certain types of capital expenditure. When buying or selling commercial property, understanding capital allowances is crucial for both the vendor and the purchaser to optimise their tax exposure.
We can help with Section 198 elections, conduct capital allowance reviews, and provide support for property transactions. Additionally, we can provide and review tax warranties ahead of transactions to ensure there are no adverse tax implications.
VAT
We are well versed in reviewing existing structures and offering bespoke and robust advice to mitigate exposure to VAT in commercial property transactions.
Compliance services
Our Property Tax team can assist with the following compliance services:
- Capital Gains Tax returns
- SDLT return filings
- ATED return filings
- VAT registrations and VAT elections
- Capital allowances elections
The Property Tax team at Affinia were professional, proactive and friendly. They were able to explain complicated tax issues in straightforward terms. Their advice helped identify and resolve potential tax-related issues. Affina gave us solutions and peace of mind. We were delighted with their service levels and advice.
Caroline Millett
