IFM26020 | Real Estate Investment Trust : Leaving the regime: termination by company/principal company: CTA2010/S571

If a company/group wants to leave the UK-REIT regime, it does so by the company/principal company giving notice to HMRC (CTA2010/S571). In practice, this notice should be sent to the tax office that deals with the company/group. (See If a company/group wants to leave the UK-REIT regime, it does so by the company/principal company giving notice to HMRC (CTA2010/S571). In practice, this notice should be sent to the tax office that deals with the company/group. (See for the disposal of a company by a group REIT where no notice is required to be served to HMRC).There is no prescribed form for the notice: the only requirements are that it should be given in writing (or electronic equivalent) and it must specify the date on which the company/group wishes the regime to cease to apply to it.

The date specified in the notice for cessation of the regime must be after the date of the notice. Note that under the cessation provisions in CTA2010/S579, the accounting periods of the property rental and residual businesses will come to an end on the date the regime ceases to apply to the company / group (see IFM26010).

Exit within ten years of joining

If the company/principal company specifies a date to leave the regime that is less than ten years after it joined, the tax treatment of disposals of property rental business assets within the two years following cessation may be affected (CTA2010/S581– see IFM26035).

The same rules also apply where a company ceases to be a member of Group REIT within 10 years of becoming a member of a Group REIT (CTA2010/S581(7)).