Capital Allowance Survey: Compare Services for UK Property Buyers

Choose by service type

The three providers below belong to different service types rather than being like-for-like competitors: Property Tax Partners is a survey-led capital-allowances specialist; CPA Tax offers transaction tax due diligence for commercial-property buyers; THP is a general accountancy practice that combines tax review with arranging a specialist survey.[3][5][6] They are used here only as examples of each service type; this guide does not endorse any of them. For commercial-property buyers and owners, the choice depends on which work needs commissioning—not the size of an estimated claim.

Identifying and valuing fixtures is distinct from establishing available relief, which depends on the taxpayer, property and transaction history.[6]

Survey-led specialist: Property Tax Partners

• Stated service scope: Physical inspection, fixture identification and replacement-cost valuation, adjusted for age, condition and property price, with costs apportioned between land, non-qualifying structure and qualifying fixtures.[3]
• Transaction coordination: Its retrospective review gathers purchase documents and historic elections; responsibility for obtaining seller cooperation and completing applicable elections needs confirmation.[3]
• Report or claim handover: Supplies a report to the owner or accountant for tax-return use; responsibility for signing and submitting the claim remains unspecified.[3]

Transaction tax due diligence: CPA Tax

• Stated service scope: Capital-allowance reviews and commercial-property tax due diligence, including Section 198 elections, SDLT advice and property-tax planning.[5]
• Transaction coordination: Works with investors, accountants, solicitors and property professionals; the allocation of seller enquiries and election tasks needs confirmation.[5]
• Report or claim handover: Ask CPA Tax to confirm the deliverable format and who is responsible for claim submission.

General accountancy practice: THP

• Stated service scope: Tax-history investigation, purchase-document review, specialist-survey arrangements and relief calculations.[6]
• Transaction coordination: Assists the solicitor in recording the agreed position, distinguishing its tax-support role from the solicitor’s documentation work.[6]
• Report or claim handover: Relief calculations form part of its stated work; the report format and responsibility for signing and submitting the claim need confirmation.[6]

Ask your solicitor and tax adviser to identify the work they will handle, then request proposals for the gaps.

Check ownership and claim history before valuation

Freehold ownership alone does not settle entitlement: HMRC explains that fixtures legislation can recognise a “virtual” owner, and both tenant’s and landlord’s fixtures fall within the rules.[1]

Before commissioning valuation, establish:

• When and how the property was acquired, and whether the seller was entitled to claim.[5][6]
• Whether fixture expenditure was pooled—entered in capital-allowance calculations—and what deductions were claimed.[5][6]
• Whether earlier elections, capital-allowance reports or surveys exist.[5][6]

“No allowances claimed” does not settle the question. THP warns that expenditure may have needed pooling even without annual deductions, and failure to pool may prevent relief for later owners.[6] If the immediate seller was tax-exempt, investigate earlier owners and transfers rather than ending the enquiry there.[6]

Ask your tax adviser to assess outstanding entitlement questions before you authorise a full valuation.

Specify the fixtures evidence

Ask for an explained asset schedule, not just a headline qualifying amount. HMRC treats heating-system boilers and radiators as fixtures, and carpets and free-standing furniture as normal chattels, but each case depends on its facts.[1] Integral features include heating, electrical and lighting systems.[2]

Property Tax Partners’ inspection and valuation process is its advertised methodology, not an HMRC-mandated survey specification.[3] Where no election fixes the value, ask the valuer to explain the “just and reasonable” apportionment described by Property Tax Partners and THP.[3][6]

Agree these deliverables:

• An asset schedule, valuation explanation, assumptions and links to supporting records.
• A records checklist covering purchase contracts, completion statements, VAT documents, existing surveys and allowance reports, elections and refurbishment records, as applicable.[5]

Assign seller enquiries and election work

Agree who will handle seller enquiries and elections rather than assuming the survey includes them. THP describes a Section 198 election as a joint agreement fixing the fixture amount used for the seller’s disposal value and the buyer’s qualifying-expenditure starting point.[6]

Record who will obtain seller records, investigate pooling, propose the value, check election details and secure signatures. Resolve the proposed value and contractual cooperation during negotiations rather than assuming agreement will follow completion.[5][6]

THP distinguishes the tax specialist’s identification and calculation work from the solicitor’s role in recording the agreement.[6] Ask both advisers which route applies: Property Tax Partners identifies Section 199 with lease grants, while THP notes that some circumstances call for other evidence, such as a written disposal-value statement.[3][6]

The normal deadline for a Section 198 election, or a First-tier Tribunal application, is two years from acquisition; missing it may leave affected fixtures with a nil value.[6] Check the amount, details and finality of the election before signing.[6]

Agree the tax-adviser handover

Name the receiving tax adviser before commissioning and ask them to approve the proposed deliverable. Property Tax Partners says its report goes to the owner or accountant for use in amending the relevant tax return.[3]

Request a handover pack containing the fixtures schedule, valuation assumptions, transaction records, election evidence and unresolved issues. Agree who reviews the tax treatment, signs and submits any claim, and answers follow-up questions.

Keep potentially qualifying expenditure separate from available relief: THP says relief depends on the taxpayer, property and transaction history.[6]

What to confirm with each provider

Ask each provider to confirm its fee, cancellation, support and service-territory terms in writing, covering:

• Fees and exclusions: an itemised quote covering inspection, historical investigation, seller coordination, elections, reporting and handover, including VAT, minimum charges and payment milestones.
• Contract terms: duration, cancellation, refunds and what becomes payable if the investigation cannot establish a usable claim.
• Evidence and support: schedule format, photographs, measurements, evidence retention, professional qualifications, professional-indemnity cover and HMRC-enquiry support, including additional charges.
• Coverage and responsibility: confirmation the provider serves the property’s location and a named person responsible for each stage through to claim submission.

Commission on an agreed scope and usable handover—not merely an attractive estimated fixture value.

References

1. CA26025 – PMA: Fixtures: Background and meaning of fixture – HMRC internal manual – GOV.UK (gov.uk)
2. Claim capital allowances: What you can claim on – GOV.UK (gov.uk)
3. Embedded Capital Allowances on Property Purchase | Property Tax Partners (propertytaxpartners.co.uk)
5. The Commercial Property Buyer’s Tax Due Diligence Checklist | CPA Tax (cpatax.co.uk)
6. Capital allowances on commercial property: a buyer’s guide – THP (thp.co.uk)