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Have you overlooked this valuable capital allowance?

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Capital allowances

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9 July 2026

Have you overlooked this valuable capital allowance? The Structures and Buildings Allowance offers tax relief on qualifying expenditure for new non-residential commercial property. Introduced in October 2018 and now at 3% per year, it covers construction, renovation and fitting-out costs. Review your position today to secure the relief.

Have you overlooked this valuable capital allowance?

If you have invested in a new commercial building or completed significant renovation work, you may qualify for extra tax relief. In fact, many business owners miss out on the Structures and Buildings Allowance (SBA) entirely. Therefore, it pays to check whether you can claim.

What is the Structures and Buildings Allowance?

The SBA provides tax relief on qualifying capital expenditure. Specifically, it applies to certain new non-residential structures and buildings. As a result, businesses can spread the tax benefit over many years.

What costs qualify?

The SBA covers a range of qualifying costs incurred on commercial structures. In particular, you can claim on expenditure linked to:

Design fees
Site preparation
Construction works
Renovation and conversion
Fitting-out costs

Furthermore, these costs may arise from constructing, purchasing or renovating qualifying commercial property. Consequently, both new builds and major refurbishments can attract relief.

How much relief can you claim?

The government introduced the allowance in October 2018 at a rate of 2% per year. Importantly, this operates on a straight-line basis. Then, from April 2020, the annual rate rose to 3%. Therefore, relief now runs over 33 and one third years. This rate continues to apply for qualifying expenditure today.

Who qualifies?

To qualify, you must use the structure for a qualifying business activity. For example, this includes:

A trade or profession
A property business, excluding residential property
Certain other commercial activities

In addition, the structure must meet specific conditions. Crucially, you need an allowance statement to support your claim. Without it, HMRC will not accept the relief.

How do you make a claim?

You make claims through your tax return each year. Moreover, relief generally continues for the full allowance period, provided the qualifying conditions remain met. So, once set up, the process runs smoothly.

Have you overlooked this valuable capital allowance? If you have constructed, purchased or renovated commercial property since October 2018, review your position now. Otherwise, you may leave valuable tax savings behind.