Double glazing has long been a major concern for landlords and those who sell it since the early 2000s. It was announced way back in the 1998 Budget that from April 2001, a concession which was to allow landlords to offset general refurbishments at their properties against tax would be eliminated.
For many households, having double glazing will mean smaller energy bills and a warmer home. In fact, 51 per of people who were surveyed in a Which? report who had double glazing said that they did buy it to make their home warmer and to reduce their energy bills by 44 per cent.
Since the abolishment, landlords have not been able to offset refurbishments against tax. Instead, they can only claim for repairs, not improvements.
Furthermore, under these new rules, landlords would be able to get tax relief for something like repairing a broken window frame. However, if that window was replaced with double glazing, this would actually be considered an improvement and therefore it would not qualify to be claimed against tax.
Change in Rules
However, a tax case had forced the Inland Revenue to change the policy surrounding double-glazing. Double glazing does not qualify for tax relief and will even be backdated in some cases.
When the rule change came in, landlords could claim for windows which had already been installed as long as they met the deadline for making changes to their self-assessment forms. Now, any double glazing installed can simply be claimed on tax.
The Revenue stated that:
“In the past, we took the view that replacing single-glazed window with double-glazed windows was an improvement and therefore capital expenditure.
But times have changed… We now accept that replacing single-glazed windows by double-glazed equivalents counts as allowable expenditure on repairs.”
The change was warmly welcomed by Malcolm Harrison of the Association of Residential Letting Agents welcomed the change. He said that: “It’s good news for landlords and good news for tenants.”
Glazing Over
Despite such good news for landlords, finding out whether “repairs” can be offset against tax can be rather confusing still, as many of the things done to a home can be classed as a repair and an improvement.
To shed some light, Mike Warburton, a partner at accountant Grant Thornton said that the system needs to be simplified. He said:
“It is confusing to know what is and what isn’t allowable under the current rules.
“I accept that if the improvement is an extension or a loft conversion it may be unreasonable.
“But the logic is that if I am repairing and upgrading part of the facilities of the house, such as the kitchen, I don’t see why it should not be an allowable repair.”
Can you replace double glazing yourself?
Installing new double-glazing needs to meet certain building regulations. This needs to be approved by either an installer who is registered with a Competent Person’s Scheme or by a Building Control who can verify the work themselves. Because of this, it is not really advisable to try and install double glazed windows on your own. If you are a tenant, it is best to leave it up to your landlord to sort out.