[ronnie paton]

he will prob say no chance but my point would be that its need for the business /or to fill my tanks ect.

you could try and rent the bit of landback to the company not sure if they would allow that either??

but if you was to rent a unit with parking you could put it all through even though this is always going to be more expensive....to me it doesnt make business sense so wht cant the ir be more flexible

[Paul Coleman]

Ok, I am in the process of having a large driveway built. My house is on a hill and I have had to excavate about 65ton of clay and getting a base and walls built, all so I can park my vehicles safely and have direct access to my water supply. Its costing a small fortune, about 10k all in.  Can I get any of this back from "the Man"?

You might be able to make a case for offsetting part of the cost as a capital outlay.  The question is whether would you be prepared to risk some capital gains tax on selling the place?
This is where some people fall down in trying to offset part of the value of a property for business use.  No problem with offsetting a bit of the domestic electric bill and maybe a few other knicknacks.  But when it comes to the actual capital value - that's when there could be problems stored up for the future.  It can get complicated and IMO it's better to seek pro advice.

[Paul Coleman]

Ok, I am in the process of having a large driveway built. My house is on a hill and I have had to excavate about 65ton of clay and getting a base and walls built, all so I can park my vehicles safely and have direct access to my water supply. Its costing a small fortune, about 10k all in.  Can I get any of this back from "the Man"?

You might be able to make a case for offsetting part of the cost as a capital outlay.  The question is whether would you be prepared to risk some capital gains tax on selling the place?
This is where some people fall down in trying to offset part of the value of a property for business use.  No problem with offsetting a bit of the domestic electric bill and maybe a few other knicknacks.  But when it comes to the actual capital value - that's when there could be problems stored up for the future.  It can get complicated and IMO it's better to seek pro advice.

Good point! think I'll just stand it and avoid the complications

A lot can depends on your circumstances too.  If you are thinking of selling in the next few years you may feel that you would be selling at a price that isn't much higher than the property's current valuation - therefore CGT probably wouldn't apply.  Also, I think there may be an extra tax free allowance for certain capital items.  It may well pay you to seek accurate advice on this as you could save a fair bit of tax.  Being liable for CGT on re-sell is only a possibilty - not a certainty.  Of course there may be another (separate) issue of whether the property is residential or commercial and, if the latter, whether there should be a business rate.
It may be better to settle for simplicity and just stump up the cost without tax relief but no harm in looking at whether you could save a bundle without overly complicating your life.