Have you been asked to work from home?
Whilst for some, the idea of no commute to work and only changing the top half of your clothes into suitable work attire may be very appealing, for others working from home is frustrating and stressful.
Perhaps living space is cramped already, making additional room for an office is hard. Maybe you have pre-school children at home, running and screaming around the house making it difficult to concentrate.
Whatever it is that is putting you off working from home, there could be a perfect solution for you.
Many people are purchasing garden rooms and turning them into offices.
These garden offices can be a fantastic solution. It is separate from the main house so you still have your own space to work in, with peace and quiet! There isn’t even a commute. Doesn’t that sound appealing?
Perhaps you have already checked your finances and can afford to get one. What could possibly go wrong?
Well… there is something you need to consider before you thinking about the design of your garden room if you are based in the UK….. the tax implications
“Tax implications, why would I pay tax on a garden office?” You may ask.
Well interestingly there was an article today in the Sunday Times that highlighted that when you come to sell your home in the future, you may well have to pay CGT (capital gains tax) on the profit made from the garden office. That could be expensive. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/like-the-look-of-my-home-office-so-does-the-taxman-nhhf6jjzm
The reason HMRC can justify this is if its proved the garden office is an exclusive business premises.
That’s the key phrase. Is it an ‘exclusive’ business premises.
If it is, HRMC have the right to charge you CGT on the profit you make on that portion of the sale.
You can ask a tax specialist to work out what the implications of that could be. But why not ask yourself “Do you have to use it exclusively for business?”
If the garden office had an exercise bike in it or some weights which you used to exercise with, or the kids used it as a playroom now & then, it’s no longer exclusively a business premises, therefore it would be hard for HMRC to justify its liable to capital gains tax.
It’s something very important to consider because big sums could be involved if you have a garden office as many do in the UK especially post Covid.
Or if you’re currently just planning a garden room, then this post may help you think about how you design it for multi-use, so it’s not exclusively a business premises.
The reason we are highlighting this at Stop Digging is because we are one of the UK’s leading companies in installing ground screws for garden offices and garden buildings.
If you are planning on having a garden room, one of the quickest & easiest ways to secure your foundations is by using ground screws, instead of concrete.
We are all becoming much more aware of our carbon footprint and Stop Digging ground screws are an environmentally friendly solution too and will not damage your garden.
We’ll save you time, money & hassle & that’s why the leading garden rooms companies around the UK use Stop Digging to install their garden room foundations.
Conclusion
Garden rooms are definitely the answer to many people’s problems now that for the foreseeable future, we are encouraged to work from home. Just remember to design it for multiple uses and make the most out of your new space to avoid harsh tax implications in the future.
If you do get have a garden office or garden building installed, make sure they are installed on Stop Digging’s ground screws.
Use our online calculator see approximately what the our screw pile foundations would cost you for your garden office https://stopdigging.co.uk/ground-screws-cost/
