Capital Allowances: Did your solicitor fail to advise you properly?

Recent research has revealed that 90% of property owners have not claimed their full capital allowances. If you have purchased a commercial property, and you have not been advised properly about claiming capital allowances, you may have a claim against your conveyancing solicitor, for overpayment of tax.

What are capital allowances?

Capital allowances are tax reliefs which can be deducted from the profits of a business to reduce the tax payable. Capital allowances can be claimed when you buy equipment to be used in your business. They can therefore potentially be very valuable.

The most common allowances relate to equipment, machinery and business vehicles. Allowances can also include fixtures such as heating and air conditioning systems. 

What should solicitors tell you about capital allowances?

Solicitors acting for both sellers and buyers of commercial property should be fully aware of the significance of correct capital allowance advice in commercial property transactions. However, this is not always the case. Solicitors should tell clients that the allowance exists, and how they can take advantage of it to legitimately reduce their tax bills. 

According to the Law Society, the majority of commercial property solicitors do not address the issue of capital allowances adequately in property transactions, which is truly staggering.

Do you have a claim against your solicitor?

If you have purchased a commercial property in the last six years, it seems very likely that you could have a claim against your solicitor for failing to advise you about capital allowances, as so many solicitors fail to provide this advice. You have nothing to lose by investigating whether you are able to bring a claim. 

Failure to address the issue when buying or selling a commercial property can result in valuable capital allowances being lost for all time. This often gives rise to professional negligence proceedings against the solicitors or/and the accountants involved in the transactions, as they can be held responsible for those losses. 

If you have purchased a commercial property, and your solicitor did not properly advise you about capital allowances, you could have a claim against them to recover your losses. At Samuels, we have over 30 years' experience in the niche area of claims against solicitors for professional negligence, as well as other professionals.  

Contact us today for a free initial discussion about how we can help.