CFM97650 - Interest restriction: charities: example
This guidance applies for accounting periods beginning before 1 April 2023. For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2023, TIOPA10/S382(1A) applies to exclude finance costs incurred by charities from the scope of tax-interest expense amounts.
This simple example illustrates the issues dealt with in CFM97610 to CFM96740 and CFM95695.
A group consists of a parent company and three subsidiaries.
The parent company (C) carries on charitable activities. It also provides debt finance to a subsidiary carrying on a trade (TT) which does not qualify for charitable exemption. A second subsidiary carries on a charitable trade (CT). A third company has property profits that qualify for a charitable exemption (CP). It is assumed that there are no differences between the measure of amounts computed for accounting and for corporation tax purposes.
The figures below, for the first period of account to which the CIR applies, the year to 31 March 2018, may not be realistic but illustrate the principles and potential effect of the CIR.
Parent Company Charity C:
- Accrues interest receivable 拢1m from TT: This is not tax-interest income as it is exempted from tax by CTA10/S486. This is an intra-group transaction and so eliminates on consolidation. As such, it is not included in the group-interest calculation.
- Third party interest income 拢0.5m: This is not tax-interest income as it is exempt from tax by CTA10/S486. This is included in the group-interest calculation.
- EBITDA is zero (charitable activities only).
Taxable trader TT
- EBITDA of trade 拢7m.
Included in both tax-EBITDA and group-EBITDA. - Interest accrued payable to Charity C 拢1m. This is not tax-interest expense by virtue of TIOPA10/S459 (CFM95695) on the assumption that the charitable donation conditions are satisfied. This is an intra-group transaction and so eliminate on consolidation. As such, it is not included in the group-interest calculation.
- Interest accrued payable to bank 拢3m. This is included in tax-interest expense, and it is also included in group-interest figures.
Note that in this example it does not matter whether TT has transferred profits to the charity by means of payments qualifying for charitable donations relief (CTM09000). Such payments are not taken into account in computing the company鈥檚 tax-EBITDA, because they are excluded payments falling within TIOPA10/S407(3)(k). Such payments may therefore reduce a non-charitable company鈥檚 taxable profits without increasing the interest restriction.
Charitable trading company CT
- EBITDA of trade 拢15m. This is not included in tax-EBITDA, but does contribute to group-EBITDA.
- Interest accrued payable to bank 拢2m. This is not included in tax-interest expense but does contribute to group-interest.
Charitable property company CP
- Property income EBITDA 拢4m. This is not included in tax-EBITDA, but does contribute to group-EBITDA.
- Interest accrued payable to bank 拢3m. This creates non-trading loan relationships deficit, and hence is included in tax-interest. It is also included in the group-interest calculation.
Overall figures
Tax-EBITDA
TT 拢7m
Total 拢7m
Aggregate tax-interest expense of group (ANTIE)
TT 拢3m to bank
CP 拢3m
Total 拢6m
Group-EBITDA
TT 拢7m
CT 拢15m
PC 拢4m
Total 拢26m
Group interest expense (ANGIE and QNGIE)
C 拢(0.5)m (third party interest income, so negative)
TT 拢3m
CT 拢2m
CP 拢3m
Total 拢7.5m
Interest restriction
Applying the fixed ratio method, the interest allowance is 30% of tax-EBITDA of 拢7m that is 拢2.1m. This is more than the de-minimis amount of 拢2m.
The group ratio will be QNGIE divided by group EBITDA, 拢7.5m/拢26m = 28.85%. So a group ratio election is not beneficial. This is because of the high aggregate levels of exempted trade and property profits that are included in group-EBITDA but not tax-EBITDA.
The fixed ratio debt cap at 拢26m (ANGIE) is much higher than the fixed ratio percentage of tax-EBITDA and does not lead to any restriction of the interest allowance.
Accordingly the interest capacity is 拢2.1m. As the ANTIE is 拢6.0m, the interest restriction is 拢3.9m.
Where there is a reporting company in place, any disallowance can be allocated to one or more consenting companies in priority to other UK group companies.
So, in this example, the reporting company might decide to allocate 拢3m of the disallowance to CP, which has charitable property income, to reduce its NTLRD to zero. The residual restriction of 拢0.9m could then be allocated to the taxable trader, reducing its deduction for trading loan relationship debits (TLRD) from 拢3m to 拢2.1m.