Why Don’t All Businesses Claim Capital Allowances?

Despite significant tax relief benefits, many businesses overlook claiming capital allowances.

Understanding the reasons behind this can help business owners identify missed opportunities and optimise tax strategies. Here’s a closer look at why not all businesses claim capital allowances and how Complete Capital Allowance can assist in the process.

Lack of Awareness

Limited Knowledge

Many business owners are unaware of capital allowances and the potential tax savings they offer. This lack of knowledge means that valuable tax relief on qualifying expenditures often goes unclaimed. At Complete Capital Allowance, we estimate that over 90% of UK businesses have not made a claim!

Accountant Oversight

While accountants handle everyday expenses, they might miss opportunities for capital allowances on specialised items such as integral fixtures and embedded assets. It is unusual for an accountant to have the skills and experience to conduct a full commercial property survey. This oversight can lead to significant missed savings.

Perceived Costs and Effort

Perceived High Costs

The costs associated with preparing a capital allowance claim, especially if it involves hiring specialists, can seem prohibitive. This perception deters businesses from pursuing potentially lucrative claims. At Complete Capital Allowance, we conduct a full survey free of charge and our clients only pay upon successful submission to HMRC.

Effort and Time

Identifying qualifying assets, gathering documentation, and filing the claim is seen as time-consuming. Many businesses prioritise other tasks, overlooking the long-term financial benefits of capital allowances. At Complete Capital Allowance, we do all the heavy lifting, including writing the reports, calculating the claim and liaising with HMRC, leaving our clients to focus on running their businesses.

Historical Factors

Previous Claims

Businesses that have claimed capital allowances in the past might assume all possible allowances have been exhausted. However, without a thorough review by specialists, many eligible expenditures might still be overlooked.

Long-Established Practices

Long-established businesses may have ingrained practices that do not include thorough reviews for capital allowances, resulting in missed opportunities for tax relief.

Misalignment with Tax Strategy

Short-Term Focus

Some businesses focus on short-term tax planning, missing the long-term benefits of capital allowances. Immediate cash flow concerns can overshadow the strategic advantages of claiming capital allowances.

Compliance Concerns

Fear of increased scrutiny from tax authorities, if a large capital allowance claim is made, can lead businesses to be overly cautious, resulting in underclaiming.

How Complete Capital Allowance Can Help

Raising Awareness

We educate businesses about the benefits and potential savings from capital allowances, ensuring they are informed and motivated to claim. It’s why we write these blogs and update our social media so often!

Simplifying the Process

We handle the complex aspects of the claim, from identification to submission, reducing the burden on the business and making the process straightforward.

Ensuring Compliance

We provide expertise to ensure all claims are fully compliant with tax regulations, minimising the risk of disputes with tax authorities. We have a 100% successful submission rate.

Uncovering Hidden Assets

We conduct thorough reviews to identify all qualifying assets, including those that might have been overlooked by generalist accountants, maximising tax relief benefits for our clients.

If you have a capital allowance claim or are not sure whether you may have, get in touch with one of our experts. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.