Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

401 Relief for pre-trading expenditure

(1) Where a person incurs expenditure for the purposes of a trade, profession or vocation before the time when he begins to carry it on and the expenditure—

(a) is incurred not more than three years before that time; and

(b) is not allowable as a deduction in computing his profits or gains from the trade, profession or vocation for the purposes of Case I or II of Schedule D but would have been so allowable if incurred after that time,

the expenditure shall be treated for the purposes of corporation tax as incurred on the day on which the trade, profession or vocation is first carried on by him and for the purposes of relief under Chapter I of this Part as if it were the amount of a loss sustained by him in the trade, profession or vocation in the year of assessment in which it is set up and commenced.

(2) A claim for relief under the Income Tax Acts in respect of an amount treated as a loss by virtue of subsection (1) above shall be made separately from any claim for relief under those Acts in respect of any other loss.