Deductibility of work in flat share structure
Question from Wendy updated on 6th April 2020:
If I have shares in a flat owning company, and rent out the flat I have use of for those shares, can I personally claim tax rebate for things I personally want to do on the building itself (like pull down a chimney externally and internally, re-roof) at my own expense only above my own flat? The constitution doesn't give me permission to do this. But can I go ahead and do it anyway and claim maintenance in my tax?
Our expert Mark Withers responded:
The flat owning company is really just a mechanism to hold your share of the title but you are the beneficial owner of the property via that structure. So yes, any maintenance work you undertake that meets the deductibility criteria and nexus to income should be claimable. Some of what you are describing though sounds like fairly major structural work that appears to go beyond remedying wear and tear from your tenants, so remain mindful of the capital limitation to deductibility.
Mark Withers and his team at Withers Tsang & Co specialise in advising on property related transactions, valuation and restructure services and tax planning.
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