Tax Relief When Buying a Business

When buying a business, the first negotiation is on price.

When price is agreed, you will then negotiate on what exactly you are buying for that price, be it the shares of the company or a mixture of assets and goodwill.

Best thing to buy for tax relief: the first £25,000 of qualifying plant and machinery

Worst thing to buy for tax relief: shares

If goodwill is part of the mix, you can only get tax relief on that if you are a company.  If goodwill is a significant number, it will probably be worth forming a company to make the purchase just for the benefit of tax relief on that goodwill.