Property investors are also entitled to housing relief
A seller of a flat before the expiry of five years from acquisition will avoid tax if he invests in a new property. It does not matter that he already has several other flats in the same locality or what he uses these flats for. This was confirmed by the director of the National Tax Information in the latest interpretation. This is a change of approach in favour of taxpayers, writes the portal prawo.pl.
Adam Allen, tax adviser and partner at Thedy & Partners was asked to comment on this issue.
– This interpretation is an example of good practice. The housing allowance legislation does not refer at all to the number of properties a taxpayer owns. Therefore, one has to agree with the director of the NIC that a taxpayer can benefit from the relief even if he owns other dwellings which he can, for example, rent out or use for business activities. The fact that he owns other properties and their use should not matter. Everyone has the right to move. What is crucial, however, is that it is in the new property that he pursues his own residential goals, explains Adam Allen, tax adviser, partner at Thedy & Partners.
And he adds that the approach of the fiscus has not always been so favourable.
– In previous years, the fiscus denied the right to the relief to people owning other properties, which meant de facto creating new conditions that did not follow from the regulations. Moreover, the mere fact of owning several properties meant that there was a risk that the owner would be deemed to be carrying out a business activity, e.g. renting them out. And let us remind ourselves that the housing relief is only available on the sale of ‘private’ property, i.e. outside of a business activity, says Adam Allen.
What if the owner, e.g. after one or two years, changes the flat again?
-He will then be entitled to a new housing relief, for the purchase of a new flat. However, he must remember that the new relief is settled independently of the ‘old’ one,” says Adam Allen.
You can read the whole article at this link: Ulga mieszkaniowa dla właścicieli kilku mieszkań (prawo.pl)