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Leased depreciating assets fixed to land

Last updated 26 August 2007

If you are the lessee of a depreciating asset and it is affixed to your land, under property law you become the legal owner of the asset. As the legal owner you are taken to hold the asset. However, an asset may have more than one holder.

Despite the fact that the leased asset is affixed to your land, if the lessor of the asset (often a bank or finance company) has a right to recover it, then they too are taken to hold the asset as long as they have that right to recover it. You and the lessor - each being a holder of the depreciating asset - would calculate the decline in value of the asset based on the cost each of you incur.

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Example: Holder of leased asset fixed to land

Jo owns a parcel of land. A finance company leases some machinery to Jo who pays the cost of fixing it to her land. Under the lease agreement, the finance company has a right to recover the machinery if Jo defaults on her lease payments.

The finance company holds the machinery as it has a right to remove the machinery from the land. The finance company is entitled to deductions for the decline in value of the machinery based on the cost of the machinery to it.

However, Jo also holds the machinery as it is attached to her land. She is entitled to a deduction for the decline in value based on the cost to her to hold the machinery. This would not include her lease payments but would include the cost of installing the machinery - see The cost of a depreciating asset for more information about what amounts form part of the cost of a depreciating asset.

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QC27892