TAX TIP OF THE WEEK - If you own a buy-to-let commercial property which has gone up in value meaning you will be facing a high CGT bill. Then you could take advantage of a loophole that may allow you to cut this drastically
Ordinarily, any gains made on the sale of the property would give rise to CGT. However where a property sale is included in the sale of a business then Business Asset Disposal Relief may apply.
This would normally be apportioned to the time the asset has been used in a business.
But if you are a sole trader then as long as the property has been used in your business for a period of 2 years then you can claim the relief in full regardless of how long it has been owned.
This can be really handy if you own an investment property which has gone up in value and is likely to give rise to substantial CGT. By using the property for a new or existing business for the last few years before the sale can means you can cut the CGT bill drastically..
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