A lease is an agreement whereby one person (the lessor) hires
an asset to another (the lessee) for a series of rental payments
over an agreed period of time.
Leasing can cover anything from the hiring of a power tool
for a day or so through the hiring of a car for months to the
hiring of a fleet of aircraft for decades or the hire of a building
for centuries. Where assets are hired for longer periods they are
usually referred to as being ‘leased’ rather than
‘hired’ but there is no clear distinction between the
two terms.
This manual is mostly concerned with the leasing of plant or
machinery. The majority of guidance on taxing the leasing of real
property (buildings and land) is to be found in the Property Income
Manual.
This manual does, however, cover particular issues concerning
the finance leasing of real property. See, in particular
