Capital Allowances Act 2001 section 181

Purchaser of land giving consideration for fixture

Section 181 sets out the conditions under which a person who purchases an existing interest in land can be treated as the owner of a fixture attached to that land for capital allowances purposes.

• When someone buys an existing interest in land that includes a fixture, and part of the purchase price is treated as expenditure on that fixture, the buyer is treated as the owner of the fixture from the date of acquisition.
• This treatment only applies where the interest being purchased already existed before the buyer acquired it — it covers purchases of existing interests, not the creation of new ones.
• The buyer will not be treated as the fixture's owner if another person holds a "prior right" — meaning someone else was already treated as the owner of the fixture, was entitled to capital allowances on it, and has made or makes a claim for those allowances.
• This section is also subject to the rules in sections 182 and 182A, which deal with purchasers who take on obligations of an equipment lessee or a client under an energy services agreement.