Alterations to install plant
s25 CAA 2001Building work that is incidental to installing plant, such as forming a changing area around new sanitaryware, can be claimed with the plant itself. Nursery conversions usually contain a lot of it.
Capital allowances for childcare
Your nursery’s fit-out could be up to 90% claimable
Safety gates, window restrictors, accessible bathrooms, automatic doors and specialist equipment all qualify, as do moveable classrooms.
Trusted by owners at
Do you own a day nursery?
Nursery owners are often unaware that their building holds thousands of pounds in unclaimed relief. Air conditioning, wiring, plumbing and the safety equipment Ofsted expects are plant and machinery or integral features.
Depending on the property’s tax history, allowances are usually worth 20% to 40% of the acquisition price. If you have remodelled or fitted out recently, that rises sharply: 70% to 90% of the cost of the works can qualify.
Our in-house team works only on capital allowances. On average relief arrives about six weeks after our first meeting, and there is no fee if we can’t identify previously unclaimed allowances.
Typical claim
Childcare bought for £850,000
- Share typically unclaimed
- 20–40%
- Capital allowances
- £255,000
- Relief for a 40% taxpayer
- £102,000
What qualifies
Items we claim in childcare
- Trade drainage
- Safety rails and security gates
- Window restrictors and safety equipment
- Bathroom and kitchen fittings
- Automatic entrance door machinery
- Portacabins and moveable classrooms
- Heating and hot water
- Electrical and lighting systems
Main rate pool (14%) or AIAIntegral feature: special rate pool (6%) or AIA
Legislation that matters
The rules and cases behind a childcare claim
Moveable buildings are plant
s23 List C, item 21Moveable buildings intended to be moved in the course of the trade sit in List C, so temporary classrooms and cabins can qualify where the building restrictions would otherwise apply.
Full expensing for company owners
Finance (No. 2) Act 2023Nursery groups trading through a company can deduct 100% of new main-rate plant in the year of spend, with no upper limit. Full expensing was made permanent in November 2023.
Recent childcare claims
Commercial properties hold thousands of pounds in unclaimed allowances
Nursery in Glasgow
- Purchase price (2021)
- £850,000
- Unclaimed allowances found
- £297,500
Childcare facility in Stafford
Specialist educational facility in Durham
Nursery in Manchester
The UK’s leading capital allowance specialists
Questions owners ask us
Why hasn’t my accountant claimed this already?
Embedded allowances need a property survey, a valuation and specialist tax knowledge. Most accountancy firms claim invoiced items such as furniture and computers, but don’t have the surveying resource to identify fixtures built into the fabric of a building.
Does a claim affect Capital Gains Tax?
Allowances are not deducted from the cost of the asset when calculating a gain (s41 TCGA 1992), so a claim cannot create or increase a chargeable gain. They can restrict a capital loss, and on a sale the s198 election decides what passes to the buyer, so plan it into the transaction.
What if HMRC questions my claim?
Every claim is documented to stand up to scrutiny, and we support you throughout any HMRC enquiry. To date every report we have submitted has been approved.
Are there any hidden costs?
No. If we can’t identify previously unclaimed allowances, there is no fee. Full fee terms are set out in our engagement letter.
Find out what your property is worth in tax relief
Two minutes, no obligation, and no fee if we can’t identify previously unclaimed allowances.