Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 272

Writing-down allowances

Section 272 sets out the amount of the annual writing-down allowance for industrial buildings and structures, including the different rates of allowance that apply to various types of qualifying buildings, the tax life of each type, and what happens when an industrial building is sold.

• A person holding the relevant interest in a qualifying industrial building at the end of a chargeable period is entitled to an annual writing-down allowance, provided the building is in use as an industrial building at that time.
• The annual rate of allowance varies by building type, ranging from 2% to 15%, and is applied on a straight-line basis over a corresponding tax life of between 7 and 50 years.
• Where the relevant interest is sold and the building continues in industrial use, the purchaser can claim writing-down allowances on the residue of expenditure over the remainder of the building's tax life.
• Transitional arrangements preserved the higher 15% rate for hotels and holiday camps where qualifying planning applications or contracts were in place before specified deadline dates.

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