Corporation Tax Act 2009 section 443

Restriction of relief for interest where tax relief schemes involved

Section 443 prevents a company from claiming tax relief on interest debits where the interest is paid as part of a scheme whose sole or main benefit is obtaining that tax relief.

• If a company pays interest under a scheme or arrangement, and the sole or main benefit of that scheme is obtaining a tax debit for the interest, relief is denied
• This provision applies specifically to interest debits on loan relationships, not to other types of debit
• Where this rule applies, the entire interest debit is disallowed — there is no partial or proportionate restriction
• This rule operates alongside but separately from the unallowable purpose rule in sections 441 and 442, which takes a broader but more proportionate approach to disallowing debits