REITs—summary of the tax regime

Produced in partnership with Martin Shah of Simmons & Simmons

Practice notes

REITs—summary of the tax regime

Produced in partnership with Martin Shah of Simmons & Simmons

Practice notes

The regime for UK real Estate investment trusts (REITs or, as they are referred to in the legislation, UK REITs) was introduced on 1 January 2007. There are currently over 130 UK REITs, a number of which converted when the regime was introduced. Those original REITs have been joined by a significant number of additional entrants to the regime as a result of changes that were made to the entry Rules, notably: the abolition of the entry charge, allowing REITs to invest in other REITs, and the relaxation of the requirement for Listing, so that companies without a listing but which are admitted to trading and actually traded on a recognised stock exchange (including, for example, on markets such as AIM) can also qualify. Several further changes have been made to the REITs rules over recent years with the stated aim of making the regime more attractive for additional entrants.

The legislation governing the tax regime for REITs can be found primarily in Part 12 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 (CTA 2010) (CTA

Martin Shah

Simmons & Simmons

Martin is a partner in the corporate tax group at Simmons & Simmons. His broad based practice encompasses financial markets, corporate, real estate (including structured real estate) and commercial work, with an emphasis on clients in the asset management & investment funds and financial institutions sectors. His focus includes advising on funds and other investment products, together with structural tax issues for asset management, banking and insurance clients.

Martin leads the financial services tax practice which won European Financial Services Tax Team of the Year at the International Tax Review European Awards in 2011 and 2013. He is rated in the latest Legal 500 and Chambers directories ("very strong" in his defence of clients’ interests and can be relied upon to be "robust in difficult circumstances") for corporate tax and endorsed by PLC Which Lawyer?.

Martin is a regular participant at the Investment Management Association and Alternative Investment Management Association, and a member of AIMA’s Tax Committee. He also led the AIMA working group on the European Savings Directive. Martin is a member of the Tax Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales and chairs its VAT and Duties Sub-Committee.

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Estate definition

What does Estate mean?

The means by which land is owned in England and Wales.

UU��ֱ��