Corporation Tax Act 2010 section 523

Notice for a group of companies to become a UK REIT

Section 523 sets out how a group of companies enters the UK Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) regime by the principal company giving a formal notice, and defines what a "group UK REIT" means.

• A group enters the UK REIT regime when its principal company gives a notice specifying the start date, and all 75% subsidiaries of the group are then included in the regime.
• The principal company may only give the notice if it is a UK company and is not an open-ended investment company under section 236 of FISMA 2000.
• The group becomes a UK REIT from the date specified in the notice, and a new accounting period begins for each company in the group on that date.
• Giving the notice alone is not sufficient — the group must also satisfy the ongoing conditions set out in section 527.