CG64010 - Business Asset Disposal Relief: disposal of whole or part of business: conditions and disposal of assets after cessation of a business

Entrepreneurs’ Relief was renamed in Finance Act 2020 with effect from 6 April 2020. The new name is generally used in this guidance but should be read as applying to times before that date.

In the case of a disposal of assets other than shares, relief may be available on the following material disposals of business assets -

  • the disposal of the whole or part of a business or
  • a disposal of assets following the cessation of a business

Relief is applied to the sum of relevant gains and relevant losses accruing on material disposals of business assets. Gains or losses on shares and securities or on other assets that are held as investments are excluded.

CG64015+ and CG64045 provide guidance on the meaning of the bulleted points above. The words used in Business Asset Disposal Relief are the same as those that were used for Retirement Relief and are intended to have the same meaning. Although decisions on the earlier relief do not constitute binding precedent for Business Asset Disposal Relief, Parliament’s use of the same terms in a subsequent Act is a clear indication of the intended meaning and a Court is likely to find the previous cases persuasive.