CAPITAL allowances specialist, Catax Solutions, has seen turnover increase by nearly 40% on last year, with the figure now standing at over £4 million for the first time.
Catax, a UK-based capital allowances specialist that identifies unused capital allowances on behalf of owners of UK commercial property, has to date arranged more than £500 million worth of tax relief for over 6,000 clients.
Holding 50% overall market share, the quantity of work processed by Catax reached a record height in the three months between June and August, increasing by 71%. In response to this increased output, in 2014, the Catax team expanded its team by a fifth (20%), with 30% of this expansion through graduate recruitment.
Capital allowances are a form of tax relief that can be claimed by commercial property owners incurring capital expenditure when building, buying, or refitting their commercial property – from lighting fixtures, to lifts. For example, an office block with a value of £2 million could typically be expected to contain capital allowances of approximately a fifth of its value – or, around £400,000.
This area of tax relief has remained relatively unknown to those able to claim this expenditure back. Since the regulation changes implemented by 2012 Finance Bill (which came into effect 1 April 2014) owners of commercial properties must identify their capital allowances at the point of sale, or they could be lost completely.
Six months after this bill came into effect, Catax Solutions estimated that nearly £160 million has been lost in tax relief. However, with Catax Solutions growing at such a remarkable rate, it appears that more people are beginning to understand and claim their capital allowances.
Mark Tighe, managing director, Catax Solutions said, “HMRC – unsurprisingly – don’t go shouting from the rooftops about the considerable rebates commercial property owners can enjoy in the form of capital allowances. But with the a surge in instructions and enquiries Catax has experienced this year, it seems more and more people are cottoning on to the concept.
“We have watched in frustration as Britain’s commercial property owners have been throwing away an absurd amount of money in tax relief month after month due to a lack of understanding and knowledge of capital allowances, so it’s a positive to see many commercial property owners across the country claiming what they’re owed.
“Currently, we carry out a great deal of work in the medical sector, closely followed by hospitality. However, our partnerships with both The Law Society and ICAEW, a world leader of the accountancy and finance profession, has significantly helped to raise awareness of capital allowances in two key sectors for growth. We look forward to these partnerships flourishing in 2015 and ensuring Capital allowances stays at the top of every commercial property owner’s agenda.”
