The new structures and buildings allowance (SBA) allows for tax relief on qualifying capital expenditure on new non-residential structures and buildings. The relief applies to the qualifying costs of building and renovating commercial structures.
The relief was introduced with effect from 29 October 2018 and applies where all contracts for the physical construction works are entered into on or after that date. The legislation to provide for this new relief was laid before Parliament and came into force on 5 July 2019 with retrospective effect.
As a result of the consultation process, some features have been amended, including those relating to short-term leaseholds, eligible pre-trading costs, periods of disuse, and reducing claimants’ administrative burdens.
The relief is available at an annual rate of 2% on a straight-line basis (over 50 years). No relief is available where parts of the structure qualify for other allowances, such as Plant & Machinery allowances.
The SBA is intended to support business investment in constructing new buildings, including necessary preparatory costs, and the improvement of existing ones, as well as improving the international competitiveness of the UK’s capital allowances system.
