Commentary on Sections Overview Overview Section 284: Sales with right to reconveyance
1155.This section brings a deemed receipt into account if property is sold on terms which provide for the property to be reconveyed to the seller, or to a connected person, at less than the sale price. It is based on section 36(1) and (4A) of ICTA.
1156.“Connected person” is defined in section 839 of ICTA (see section 878(5) of this Act).
1157.Section 36(1) of ICTA does not specify any limit on the time between sale and reconveyance. But because section 36(1) of ICTA reduces the amount of the deemed income by 1/50th for each complete year between sale and reconveyance, no charge arises if the property is reconveyed more than 51 years after the sale. So this section applies only if the period between sale and reconveyance is not more than 50 years. See Change 72 in Annex 1.
1158.Subsections (2) to (4) of this section are drafted on the same basis as subsections (2) to (4) of section 277.
1159.Subsection (2) treats the person who sells the land as entering into a transaction mentioned in section 264 (if the land to which the lease relates is in the United Kingdom) or section 265 (if the land to which the lease relates is outside the United Kingdom). The effect of sections 264 and 265 is that the transaction will be included in, or will constitute, the person's UK or overseas property business.
1160.Section 36(4A) of ICTA treats income deemed to have been received under section 36 of ICTA as received when the property is sold. This section instead brings an amount into account as a receipt in calculating the profits of the property business for the tax year in which the property is sold. See Change 69 in Annex 1.
1161.The formula in subsection (4) is based on section 36(1) of ICTA. Section 36(1) of ICTA deems the person by whom the property is sold to receive an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the sale price over the price at which the property is to be reconveyed or, if the earliest date on which the property can be reconveyed is two or more years after the sale, the excess reduced by 1/50th for each complete year between the sale and that date.
1162.If a property is reconveyed within two years of sale, the amount given by the formula in subsection (4) is equal to the excess of the sale price over the price at which the property is reconveyed. So it is not necessary to prescribe different rules for properties reconveyed before and after the two year period.