Is a previously-occupied building disqualified from the section 13 quin allowance?
30 January 2015
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Posted by: Author: SAIT Technical
Author: SAIT Technical Q: We bought a commercial property during the 2014 tax year. The office park
was built about 5 years ago, according to the facilities manager. During the
period before we bought the unit, our specific unit was occupied for 3 months. For the remainder of the previous year, it
was unused. This formed part of a
liquidated estate and we purchased the property out of this liquidated estate. I had a look at the requirements for section 13 quin(building allowance) of
the Income Tax Act, as well as the practice note on building allowances. One of
the requirements for the 13 quin allowance appears to be that the property must
be new or unused. Would the fact that
the property was occupied for 3 months from the time it was built and we bought
it (therefore, during the 3 / 4 years prior to our purchase) be seen as it was
used and therefore will not qualify for the allowance? We are using the unit for our offices and therefore run our accounting firm
from this unit. I just want to make sure that we utilise any allowance that we
might be able to use, but from what I investigated, it would appear that the
only applicable allowance would be section 13 quin and I am a bit uncertain as
to whether we will be allowed to use this. A: You are correct
that "new and unused” does require that the building should not have been used
before by either the taxpayer or any other person and if the seller had used it
before then the building is disqualified. In this regard see the explanatory
Memorandum on the Revenue Laws Amendment Bill 2007 at pg.45-46. Disclaimer: Nothing in this query and answer should be construed as
constituting tax advice or a tax opinion. An expert should be consulted for
advice based on the facts and circumstances of each transaction/case. Even
though great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the answer, SAIT do
not accept any responsibility for consequences of decisions taken based on this
query and answer. It remains your own responsibility to consult the relevant
primary resources when taking a decision.
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