For business owners who already pay rent on an office, warehouse or workshop, a Small Self-Administered Scheme, or SSAS, offers a different way to hold that same asset. Rather than a landlord collecting the rent each month, the pension does, and the business owner keeps the benefit within their own retirement fund.
GoldHouse Accounting works with company directors and property investors across the UK to set up and manage SSAS pensions built around this exact strategy.
What Buying Property Through a SSAS Actually Involves
A SSAS is a pension scheme set up by a company for its directors, giving far more control over where the money is invested than a standard workplace pension. One of its most valuable features is the ability to purchase commercial property outright, using pension funds rather than a mortgage or business loan.
Once the property sits inside the SSAS, the business pays rent to the pension instead of to an external landlord. That rent is a deductible business expense, and it grows the pension tax-free rather than disappearing into someone else’s account.
Buying commercial property through a SSAS typically means:
- The SSAS purchases the property using pension funds, sometimes alongside a mortgage taken out by the scheme itself
- The business pays market-rate rent directly into the pension
- Rental income and any future growth in the property’s value builds up free of Capital Gains Tax
- The director retains control over which property is bought and how it is managed
- The property can eventually be sold from within the pension without triggering a CGT charge
Getting the Structure Right from the Start
The mechanics only work in the director’s favour if the scheme is set up correctly from day one. Valuations, rent levels and the balance between pension funds and any borrowing all need to reflect HMRC’s rules, and getting any of these wrong can undo the tax advantages that make the strategy worthwhile in the first place.
This is where GoldHouse’s SSAS service comes in, handling setup, registration and the ongoing investment strategy so the property purchase, the rent and the pension all work together rather than creating problems further down the line.
Find Out More About SSAS Pensions with Zee
Watch the video below, where our managing director Zee Razaq explains how SSAS pensions can help you to become your own bank, through buying and protecting assets, and distributing wealth.
Are SSAS Pensions Right for Your Business?
Buying commercial property through a SSAS is not the right move for every business, but for directors who already own or are looking to buy the premises they operate from, it can turn a monthly cost into a long-term asset for their own retirement.
If you want to explore whether your business premises could sit inside a SSAS pension, GoldHouse Accounting can talk you through the setup, the rules and the numbers for your situation. Book a discovery call today to get started.
