Buying Property in Company Name

[PeggyandCream]

Advice from any accountants would be appreciated (mine is on hols for some time). I have been planning an office to be built in our garden/side of the house. However, the adjoining property (we’re in a semi) has come on the market and we’d like to buy it. If we were to do so, it would be my office – and also additional domestic space (we’d make it gradually into one property). It wouldn't be commercial premises as such as i'm a freelance writer so the office would simply be where i work - ie. nothing visible from outside, etc.

What I need to know is, what would the tax implications be if I got a commercial loan for this and bought in my company’s name? Could it also be used as domestic? Is this possible? How could i do this in practice? Thanks in advance!

Sounds very messy to be honest for lots of reasons.

Firstly, if you have private use of it (i.e. for domestic purposes), you'll have a personal taxable benefit in kind.

At some future time, the company will have tax to pay on the increase in value between the purchase price and the ultimate selling price, either to you which must be at market value, or to someone else. Unlike your own home, there'd be no capital gains tax annual exemption nor main residence relief etc. There'd also be stamp duty to pay if you personally bought it from your company. You'd have to buy it before you did any re-modelling or otherwise joining it to your current home. It's also harder to get a company loan to buy a property - interest rates would be higher as it would be a commercial loan instead of a mortgage and there'd also be higher arrangement fees, and a bigger deposit needed.

In very general terms, mixing your own home with company land & buildings just doesn't work.

Ok, that's helpful.
What if the company bought it with a mortgage - but as a residential property only?