Capital Gains Tax Act 1979

34 Restriction of losses by reference to capital allowances and renewals allowances

(1) Section 33 above shall not require the exclusion from the sums allowable as a deduction in the computation under this Chapter of any expenditure as being expenditure in respect of which a capital allowance or renewals allowance is made, but the amount of any losses accruing on the disposal of an asset shall be restricted by reference to capital allowances and renewals allowances as follows.

(2) In the computation under this Chapter of the amount of a loss accruing to the person making the disposal, there shall be excluded from the sums allowable as a deduction any expenditure to the extent to which any capital allowance or renewals allowance has been or may be made in respect of it.

(3) If the person making the disposal acquired the asset—

(a) by a transfer by way of sale in relation to which an election under paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the [1968 c. 3.] Capital Allowances Act 1968 was made, or

(b) by a transfer to which section 35(2) to (4) or section 48(2) of that Act applies,

(being enactments under which a transfer is treated for the purposes of capital allowances as being made at written down value), the preceding provisions of this section shall apply as if any capital allowance made to the transferor in respect of the asset had (except so far as any loss to the transferor was restricted under those provisions) been made to the person making the disposal (that is the transferee); and where the transferor acquired the asset by such a transfer, capital allowances which by virtue of this subsection can be taken into account in relation to the transferor shall also be taken into account in relation to the transferee (that is the person making the disposal), and so on for any series of transfers before the disposal.

(4) In this section “capital allowance ” means—

(a) any allowance under the Capital Allowances Act 1968 (including the provisions of the Taxes Act which under that Act are to be treated as contained in the said Act of 1968) or under Chapter I of Part III of the [1971 c. 68.] Finance Act 1971, other than an allowance under section 79(1) of the Taxes Act (relief for cost of maintenance of agricultural land),

(b) any relief given under section 76 of the Taxes Act (expenditure on sea walls), and

(c) any deduction in computing profits or gains allowable under section 141 of the Taxes Act (cemeteries).

(5) In this section “renewals allowance ” means a deduction allowable in computing the profits or gains of a trade, profession or vocation for the purpose of income tax by reference to the cost of acquiring an asset for the purposes of the trade, profession or vocation in replacement of another asset, and for the purposes of this Chapter a renewals allowance shall be regarded as a deduction allowable in respect of the expenditure incurred on the asset which is being replaced.

(6) The amount of capital allowances to be taken into account under this section in relation to a disposal include any allowances falling to be made by reference to the event which is the disposal, and there shall be deducted from the amount of the allowances the amount of any balancing charge to which effect has been or is to be given by reference to the event which is the disposal, or any earlier event, and of any balancing charge to which effect might have been so given but for the making of an election under section 40 of the Capital Allowances Act 1968 (option in case of replacement of machinery or plant).

(7) Where the disposal is of machinery or plant in relation to expenditure on which allowances or charges have been made under Chapter I of Part III of the [1971 c. 68.] Finance Act 1971, and neither paragraph 5 (assets used partly for trade purposes and partly for other purposes) nor paragraph 6 (wear and tear subsidies) of Schedule 8 to that Act applies, the capital allowances to be taken into account under this section are to be regarded as equal to the difference between the capital expenditure incurred, or treated as incurred, under that Chapter on the provision of the machinery or plant by the person making the disposal and the disposal value required to be brought into account in respect of the machinery or plant.