CG64865 - Private residence relief: permitted area: action taken by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA)

In cases where the entity of the dwelling-house is not in dispute you will normally request an informal ‘not negotiated’ opinion of the permitted area. If, on the information available, the District Valuer is able to accept the taxpayer’s permitted area then you should be advised accordingly and if any apportionments are required these may be provided on a not negotiated basis.

If, on the information available, the District Valuer is unable to accept the taxpayer’s permitted area then the case should be treated as a request for a formal ‘agreed’ opinion and you should be advised accordingly.

In cases where the entity of the dwelling-house is in dispute you will normally request an ‘agreed’ opinion of the permitted area from the outset.

If the VOA decide that the taxpayer’s contentions are acceptable, they will notify you of this and you should proceed to agree the amount of any gain.

If you have requested a ‘not negotiated’ opinion and, on the information available, the VOA are unable to accept the taxpayer’s contentions they will ask you whether you have any objection to them treating the reference as a request for a formal ‘agreed’ opinion.

In cases where you request a ‘not negotiated’ opinion of the permitted area the District Valuer should, whenever possible, make an external inspection of the property before reporting an opinion. In cases where you have requested an ‘agreed’ permitted area and apportionments the District Valuer should make an internal inspection of the property whenever possible. The reason for this is to enable the VOA to demonstrate that all relevant factors have been taken into account in exercising their judgement.

If the request is for a ‘not negotiated’ opinion, any figure provided by the VOA may inform your actions but is not a figure or opinion which you should put to the taxpayer.

If the request is for an ‘agreed’ opinion, once an opinion has been formed, the VOA will let you have an interim report and ask whether you wish them to commence negotiations. At the same time as providing you with an interim report, the VOA will also advise the taxpayer of their opinion.

On receipt of the interim report you should prepare a computation based on the VOA’s opinion and forward a copy to the taxpayer explaining that it is based on the VOA’s preliminary views. If the taxpayer is able to accept the VOA’s opinion you should notify the VOA accordingly. However, if the taxpayer is unable to accept the VOA’s opinion you should ask the VOA to enter negotiations. The case will then be treated as one requiring a formal ‘agreed’ opinion.