Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 (c. 5)

Part 3 U.K. Property income

Chapter 5 U.K. Profits of property businesses: other rules about receipts and deductions

[F1 Property businesses using cash basis U.K.

Textual Amendments

F1 Ss. 307A-307F and cross-headings inserted (16.11.2017) (with effect in accordance with Sch. 2 para. 64 of the amending Act) by Finance (No. 2) Act 2017 (c. 32), Sch. 2 para. 23

307B Cash basis: capital expenditure U.K.

(1) This section applies in relation to the calculation of the profits of a property business on the cash basis.

(2) No deduction is allowed for an item of a capital nature incurred on, or in connection with, the acquisition or disposal of a business or part of a business.

(3) No deduction is allowed for an item of a capital nature incurred on, or in connection with, education or training.

(4) No deduction is allowed for an item of a capital nature incurred on, or in connection with, the provision, alteration or disposal of land.

(5) But subsection (4) does not prevent a deduction being made for expenditure that—

(a) is incurred on the provision of a depreciating asset which, in being provided, is installed or otherwise fixed to qualifying land (see subsection (8)) so as to become, in law, part of the land, but

(b) is not incurred on, or in connection with, the provision of—

(i) a building,

(ii) a wall, floor, ceiling, door, gate, shutter or window or stairs,

(iii) a waste disposal system,

(iv) a sewerage or drainage system, or

(v) a shaft or other structure in which a lift, hoist, escalator or moving walkway may be installed.

(6) No deduction is allowed for an item of a capital nature incurred on, or in connection with, the provision, alteration or disposal of an asset for use in ordinary residential property (see subsection (8)). But see section 311A (replacement domestic items relief).

(7) If an asset is provided partly for use in ordinary residential property and partly for other purposes, such apportionment of the expenditure incurred on, or in connection with, the provision, alteration or disposal of the asset is to be made for the purposes of subsection (6) as is just and reasonable.

(8) In relation to the calculation of profits for a tax year—

(a) “ordinary residential property” means a dwelling-house or part of a dwelling-house in relation to which an ordinary property business (see subsection (9)) is carried on in the tax year, and

(b) “qualifying land” means land not falling within paragraph (a).

(9) “Ordinary property business” means—

(a) so much of a UK property business as does not consist of the commercial letting of furnished holiday accommodation (within the meaning of Chapter 6) in the UK, or

(b) so much of an overseas property business as does not consist of the commercial letting of furnished holiday accommodation in one or more EEA states.

(10) No deduction is allowed for an item of a capital nature incurred on, or in connection with, the provision, alteration or disposal of—

(a) any asset that is not a depreciating asset (see subsections (11) and (12)),

(b) any asset not acquired or created for use on a continuing basis in the property business,

(c) a car (see subsection (20)),

(d) a non-qualifying intangible asset (see subsections (13) to (16)), or

(e) a financial asset (see subsection (17)).

(11) An asset is a “depreciating” asset if, on the date the item of a capital nature is incurred, it is reasonable to expect that before the end of 20 years beginning with that date—

(a) the useful life of the asset will end, or

(b) the asset will decline in value by 90% or more.

(12) The useful life of an asset ends when it could no longer be of use to any person for any purpose as an asset of a business.

(13) “Intangible asset” means anything that is capable of being an intangible asset within the meaning of FRS 105 and, in particular, includes—

(a) an internally-generated intangible asset, and

(b) intellectual property.

(14) An intangible asset is “non-qualifying” unless, by virtue of having a fixed maximum duration, it must cease to exist before the end of 20 years beginning with the date on which the item of a capital nature is incurred.

(15) An intangible asset is “non-qualifying” if it consists of a right, whether conditional or not, to obtain an intangible asset without a fixed maximum duration by virtue of which that asset must, assuming the right is exercised at the last possible time, cease to exist before the end of 20 years beginning with the date on which the item of a capital nature is incurred.

(16) Where—

(a) the person carrying on the property business (“P”) has an intangible asset, and

(b) P grants a licence or any other right in respect of that asset to another person,

any intangible asset that consists of a licence or other right granted to P in respect of the intangible asset mentioned in paragraph (a) is “non-qualifying”.

(17) A “financial asset” means any right under or in connection with—

(a) a financial instrument, or

(b) an arrangement that is capable of producing a return that is economically equivalent to a return produced under any financial instrument.

(18) A reference to acquisition, provision, alteration or disposal includes potential acquisition, provision, alteration or (as the case may be) disposal.

(19) If there is a letting of accommodation only part of which is furnished holiday accommodation, such apportionments as are just and reasonable in all the circumstances are to be made for the purposes of this section.

(20) In this section—

• “arrangement” includes any agreement, understanding, scheme, transaction or series of transactions (whether or not legally enforceable);

• “building” includes any fixed structure;

• “car” has the same meaning as in Part 2 of CAA 2001 (see section 268A of that Act);

• “financial instrument” has the same meaning as in FRS 105;

• “FRS 105” means Financial Reporting Standard 105 (the Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the Micro-entities Regime), issued by the Financial Reporting Council in July 2015;

• “intellectual property” means—

  (a)

  any patent, trade mark, registered design, copyright or design right, plant breeders' rights or rights under section 7 of the Plant Varieties Act 1997,

  (b)

  any right under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom corresponding or similar to a right within paragraph (a),

  (c)

  any information or technique not protected by a right within paragraph (a) or (b) but having industrial, commercial or other economic value, or

  (d)

  any licence or other right in respect of anything within paragraph (a), (b) or (c);

• “provision” includes creation, construction or acquisition.

307C Cash basis: deduction for costs of loans U.K.

(1) Section 307D applies in calculating the profits of a property business for a tax year if conditions A to D are met.

(2) Condition A is that the profits of the business are calculated on the cash basis for the tax year.

(3) Condition B is that a deduction for costs of a loan is allowed in calculating the profits of the business for the tax year or, ignoring section 272A (restricting deductions for finance costs related to residential property) and section 307D (cash basis: modification of deduction for costs of loans), would be so allowed. In this section such a loan is referred to as a “relevant loan”.

(4) Condition C is that an amount of the principal of one or more relevant loans is outstanding at the end time (and a relevant loan in respect of which such an amount is outstanding at the end time is referred to in this section as an “outstanding relevant loan”).

(5) Condition D is that—

where—

L is the total outstanding amount of relevant loans (see subsections (6) and (7)), and

V is the sum of the values of all relevant properties (see subsections (8) to (10)).

(6) The “total outstanding amount of relevant loans”—

(a) if there is only one outstanding relevant loan, is the outstanding business amount of that loan, and

(b) if there are two or more outstanding relevant loans, is found by calculating the outstanding business amount of each such loan and adding those amounts together.

(7) The “outstanding business amount” of a relevant loan is given by—

where—

A is the amount of the principal of the loan which is outstanding at the end time,

X is the amount of the deduction for costs of the loan that would be allowed, apart from sections 272A and 307D, in calculating the profits of the business for the tax year, and

Y is the amount of the deduction for costs of the loan that would be allowed, apart from the wholly and exclusively rule and sections 272A and 307D, in calculating the profits of the business for the tax year.

(8) A property is a “relevant property” if—

(a) it is involved in the property business at the end time, or

(b) although it is not involved in the business at the end time—

(i) it was last involved in the business at an earlier time in the tax year, and

(ii) the person carrying on the business holds the property throughout the period beginning with that earlier time and ending with the end time.

(9) The “value” of a relevant property is the total of—

(a) the market value of the property at the time that it is first involved in the property business, and

(b) such amount of any expenditure of a capital nature incurred by the person carrying on the business in respect of the property as is not brought into account in calculating the profits of the business for the tax year or any previous tax year.

(10) A property is “involved in the property business” if it is a property whose exploitation forms the whole or part of the business.

(11) The “end time” is—

(a) the time immediately before the end of the tax year, or

(b) if in the tax year the person carrying on the business permanently ceases to carry it on, the time immediately before the person permanently ceases to carry on the business.

(12) “Costs”, in relation to a loan, means—

(a) interest on the loan,

(b) an amount in connection with the loan that, for the person receiving or entitled to the amount, is a return in relation to the loan which is economically equivalent to interest, or

(c) incidental costs of obtaining finance by means of the loan.

(13) Section 58(2) to (4) (meaning of “incidental costs of obtaining finance”) apply for the purposes of subsection (12)(c).

(14) In this section—

• “market value”, in relation to a property, means the price which the property might reasonably be expected to fetch—

  (a)

  in the market conditions then prevailing, and

  (b)

  between persons dealing with each other at arm's length in the open market;

• “property” means an estate, interest or right in or over land;

• “the wholly and exclusively rule” means the rule in section 34 (expenses not wholly and exclusively for trade and unconnected losses), as applied by section 272ZA (application of trading income rules: cash basis).

307D Cash basis: modification of deduction for costs of loans U.K.

(1) Where section 307C provides that this section applies in calculating the profits of a property business for a tax year, the amount which is allowed as a deduction for costs of a loan in calculating the profits for the tax year is the non-adjusted deduction multiplied by the relevant fraction. This is subject to section 272A (restricting deductions for finance costs related to residential property).

(2) “The non-adjusted deduction” means the deduction for costs of the loan that would be allowed, apart from section 272A and this section, in calculating the profits of the business for the tax year.

(3) “The relevant fraction” means—

where V and L have the same meaning as in section 307C.

(4) For the meaning of “costs of a loan” see section 307C.]