Corporation Tax Act 2009 section 279

Extent of charge to tax

Section 279 sets out two exceptions under which rent received for a UK electric-line wayleave is not taxed as wayleave income but is instead brought into account under a different heading — either as property business income or as trading income.

• Wayleave rent is not taxed separately where the company already runs a UK property business on the same land and brings other (non-wayleave) rental receipts into account for that business in the same accounting period.
• In that situation the wayleave rent is instead included in the calculation of the company's UK property business profits.
• Where the company carries on a trade on the land, section 45(2) may apply so that the wayleave rent is treated as a trading receipt rather than being taxed under the wayleave rules.
• The effect of these two exceptions is that wayleave rent always follows the main activity on the land — property letting or trading — rather than being taxed in isolation.