Capital Allowances for Buy to Let landlords

superlandlord

Has anyone come across Hedge Tax Mitigation who claim to be able to reclaim part of the purchase price of a buy to let property by claiming capital allowances?

dunstonh

Surely your accountant would be claiming capital allowances for you when you do your self assessment?

Have you only been taking into account your allowable expenses and forgot to do capital allowances?

Whatever the type of letting, you can claim a capital allowance on the cost of things that you need for running your property letting business, like cleaning and gardening equipment. You can also claim for equipment that isn't for the use of a single let property, like a boiler that heats more than one property.

superlandlord

Thanks for the reply. What this firm is suggesting is doing a survey of the property and splitting the original purchase cost as to electrical installation and other plant & machinery. Capital allowances can then be claimed on these. I think that's the theory anyway.

Parsnip999

I received a brochure from 'Hedge Tax Mitigation' via my letting agent. I replied to the company and they called back very quickly.

However I soon discovered that the brochure is just a cover for a company which seems to have a lot of Spanish properties it cannot shift.

After being told that the only way to qualify for their service is if your property is let to 'unrelated' people (student bedsits I suppose or HMO) then I did not qualify.

This could quite easily have been put on their brochure or website but as I realised this company is just a cover for spanish property sales - any normal accountant could easily claim this capital allowance if you qualify.

Just my story but i can think of very few landlords who will qualify for this other than student property lets or HMO.

heleen

I have contacted Hedge Tax Mitigation also for my Furnished Holiday Let. They have come back with allowances (subject to survey) that I could reclaim that are significant. Their fee is also significant but only 25% of what I could reclaim immediately for the last 2 years.

I have sent it to my accountant asking if it is legit. To my knowledge we have not claimed capital allowances before, just P&L things, and certainly not in these orders of magnitude.

When I get a reply from my accountant I will post an update.

Gopes

heleen wrote: »

I have contacted Hedge Tax Mitigation also for my Furnished Holiday Let. They have come back with allowances (subject to survey) that I could reclaim that are significant. Their fee is also significant but only 25% of what I could reclaim immediately for the last 2 years.

I have sent it to my accountant asking if it is legit. To my knowledge we have not claimed capital allowances before, just P&L things, and certainly not in these orders of magnitude.

When I get a reply from my accountant I will post an update.

Did you get a view from your accountant? I have been contacted by these people, and am trying to get to the bottom of whether they are legitimate, or running some kind of scam.

The old adage - if it seems to good to be true, then it probably is, springs to mind....

Gopes

Corfu321

Well, I also saw their advert in the EasyJet mag and as a result of contacting them have had lots of email correspondence with a Mr David Maidment.

I don't know what to make of them. I have Buy to Let property let to students and any accountant I speak to tells me these are not applicable for Capital Allowance Claims. Mr Maidment is very tempting with talk of a potential tax rebate of nearly £16k.

However, and here's the rub, their fees come to over £6,000 plus VAT so that's well over 40% of any amount claimed. Also they want their fees up front before I get any money back from HMRC, if indeed I do.

I think it's a scam so have not proceeded. Would appreciate any other views however, particularly from anyone who has actually paid them any fees.

spiderhoof_2

Well it worked for me. Yes I think they have got a lot of goings on with Spanish villas or whatever but that never came up in my correspondence.

Basically, same advert EasyJet, I responded and got a massive wedge back from the tax man. I believe it to be legit. They sent an assessor around to do a survey (which I saw) and then it finished up with an e-mail to be forwarded onto my accountant saying things like instruct hmrc to change box xyz to some figure. Along with the email came the bill. I refused to pay the bill until I got the money from the tax man, but it did arrive and I did then pay them. There is now some kind a declaration I have to make to the next purchaser of the building if ever I sold it. They were pretty insistent I took a note of that.

They could only work with one property which was a big commercial building. I did ask about various buytolet residentials I have but they couldnt do anything with those.

It all seemed legit to me. They said this subject was not covered by normal accountants and my accountant went along with it. He's definitely a straight accountant. Btw. they pretty much insist you have you own accountant if I remember right.