Statistical Sampling

Statistical sampling is a great way to reduce the level of capital allowances analysis needed for large property folios or repetitive blocks of expenditure without compromising results. It can save businesses valuable time and money and help provide greater certainty in tax forecasting and reporting.

Instead of analysing every project larger businesses can use statistics to find the minimum level needed saving themselves valuable time, money and hassle.

Claims that utilise statistical sampling require early engagement with HM Revenue & Customs which usually results in a written acceptance unlike the normal tax compliance process.

Provided the profile of expenditure and tax rules do not materially change it is often possible to use the agreed percentages (with monitoring) for future years providing long-term savings.

Pub Landlord - Case Study

Furasta was engaged by a major pub landlord to quantify its capital allowances claims on £150m+ of refurbishment works across 650+ sites. The company owned over 2,400 pubs and had just started a £350m+ five-year investment programme.

We were appointed by the businesses in-house tax team which resulted in working closely with their finance and property colleagues to gather the necessary financial and project information efficiently, and successfully engaged with external suppliers on the finer details of the expenditure. We brought in our statistical experts, visited certain sites to validate our analysis assumptions and produced detailed reports for presentation and agreement with HMRC and the Knowledge, Analysis and Intelligence (KAI) unit - supporting and keeping the existing tax team up to date throughout.

The results of our work were as follows:-

An overall qualifying claim* of 95%+
An analysis of <45 projects compared to 650+.
A cost effective system for checking application against future projects and years.
An analysis and observation report on existing procurement and reporting systems with risks and recommendations for future action.

* which included land remediation relief, main pool plant, special rate pool plant, capitalised repairs and structures and buildings allowances, a significant improvement on what the business was already claiming.

For more details please contact us.