What is Land Remediation Relief?
Introduced by HMRC in 2001 to address market failure, in bringing back into use, land that had been blighted by previous use for industrial purposes.
Land Remediation Relief (LRR) is a relief from corporation tax only and provides a deduction for qualifying expenditure incurred by an SME, on the clearing up of land acquired from a 3rd party. Such land could be contaminated or brought back into use following a derelict term.
When can Land Remediation Relief be claimed?
LRR can be provide tax relief across all commercial property sectors where the owner organisation is subject to UK corporate tax.
Unlike capital allowances, LRR is available to both property investors and property developers alike.
Typically LRR is overlooked by the smaller property investors and developers, and HMRC actively encourage such businesses to claim for this relief.
How much may I claim?
The actual rate of relief that can be secured depends upon the status of the company claiming the relief, but can be summarised as follows:
- Owner occupier or investor rate - 150%.
- Developer rate - 50%.
- For loss-making companies, a tax credit (cash-in-hand) amount can be claimed - 24%.
What costs qualify?
Relief can be available on developments, regeneration projects, fit-outs and refurbishments. The time limit for retrospective claims is up to 3 years.
Qualifying expenditure includes:
- Remediation of contaminated land.
- Removal of asbestos contamination in soil and concrete.
- Breaking-out buried structures.
- Treatment of harmful organisms and naturally occurring contaminants.
- Radon protection measures.
- Japanese knotweed.