Freeport and Investment Zone Tax Reliefs for Property: Which Still Apply in 2026
Yes, the property tax reliefs in Freeport and Investment Zone tax sites are still available in 2026. In a designated tax site, a buyer of commercial land in England can pay no Stamp Duty Land Tax, a new commercial building earns a 10% Structures and Buildings Allowance instead of 3%, and new plant and machinery gets a 100% first-year allowance. The window runs to 30 September 2031 for English Freeports and to 30 September 2034 for Scottish and Welsh Freeports and all Investment Zones.
The reliefs only apply inside the specific tax sites, which are mapped parcels of land, not whole regions, and only to commercial use. Most of them are at ports and industrial locations far from central London, so for a London investor they matter mainly when looking at logistics, industrial and manufacturing schemes elsewhere in the UK.
Where the tax sites are
Freeports in England: East Midlands, Freeport East, Humber, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth and South Devon, Solent, Teesside and Thames. Thames Freeport is the one closest to London.
Green Freeports in Scotland: Forth, and Inverness and Cromarty Firth.
Freeports in Wales: Anglesey and Celtic.
Investment Zones with tax sites, according to HMRC's information pack of February 2026: North East, West Midlands, Liverpool City Region and East Midlands in England; Glasgow City Region and North East of Scotland; and Flintshire and Wrexham in Wales. Other Investment Zones, including South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Tees Valley, and Cardiff and Newport, chose flexible funding instead and offer no tax reliefs.
Each Freeport and Investment Zone has its own tax sites, published as maps on gov.uk. A building a few hundred metres outside the boundary gets none of the reliefs.
The reliefs, and how long they last
| Relief | What it gives | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp Duty Land Tax relief (England) | Full relief on land or buildings bought for qualifying commercial use | 30 September 2031 (Freeports); 30 September 2034 (Investment Zones) |
| Enhanced Structures and Buildings Allowance | 10% a year for 10 years, instead of 3% a year | Expenditure and use by 30 September 2031 (English Freeports) or 30 September 2034 (others) |
| Enhanced capital allowances | 100% first-year allowance on new plant and machinery used primarily in the site | Same dates |
| Employer National Insurance relief | Zero-rate secondary contributions on earnings up to £25,000 a year for new employees, for up to 36 months each | Same dates |
| Business rates relief | Full relief for eligible new and expanding businesses for five years, set by the local council | Claim by the same dates |
| Scotland and Wales land taxes | Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Land Transaction Tax have their own reliefs | Set by the devolved governments |
The original windows were five years. In 2024 the government extended them to ten, which is why the English Freeport dates now run to 2031 and the others to 2034.
Stamp Duty Land Tax relief in detail
HMRC's guidance sets the conditions:
- The site must already be designated. Purchases before designation do not qualify.
- Qualifying use. The land or building must be used, or intended for use, for a commercial trade or profession, for development or redevelopment for resale, or for letting to a paying tenant. Residential property and residential development are excluded, and so is undeveloped land held as stock for resale.
- How much relief. Full relief where at least 90% of the price is for qualifying land in the tax site; partial relief between 10% and 90%; nothing below 10%.
- A three-year control period. If the property is not put to qualifying use, and you are not taking reasonable steps to do so or to sell it, the relief is withdrawn. You must file a further return and pay within 30 days.
- Claiming. On the land transaction return, filed within 14 days of completion.
The 10% Structures and Buildings Allowance
The standard allowance is 3% a year over 33⅓ years. In a tax site it is 10% a year for 10 years, so the full construction cost is relieved in a decade rather than a generation. The conditions:
- Construction must start after the site was designated, counting from the first contract or the first work on site, whichever is earlier.
- The building must be brought into qualifying non-residential use in the site by the deadline.
- The expenditure must be incurred by the deadline.
- You need an allowance statement identifying the amount as special tax site expenditure.
The ordinary SBA rules still apply, including the exclusion of land, dwellings and costs that qualify as plant. See our guide to capital allowances on commercial property.
Worked example
Illustrative example only, round numbers, not a real site.
A company buys a £3,000,000 plot in an English Freeport tax site and builds a £10,000,000 warehouse, of which £8,000,000 qualifies for the SBA and £2,000,000 is plant.
| Relief | Outside a tax site | Inside a tax site |
|---|---|---|
| SDLT on the land (non-residential scale) | £139,500 | £0 |
| SBA in year one | £240,000 (3%) | £800,000 (10%) |
| Plant in year one | £2,000,000 if full expensing applies | £2,000,000 (100% enhanced allowance) |
Outside a tax site, a company buying new plant already has full expensing, so the plant line often makes little difference for companies. The real gains are the stamp duty and the building allowance: £8,000,000 relieved over 10 years rather than 33⅓, and the 100% allowance for businesses that cannot use full expensing.
Who qualifies, and the pitfalls
| Situation | Reliefs available | Common pitfall |
|---|---|---|
| Logistics or industrial developer building in a tax site | SDLT, enhanced SBA, enhanced capital allowances | First contract signed before designation |
| Investor buying a let commercial building in a tax site | SDLT relief | Building just outside the mapped boundary |
| Residential developer in a Freeport area | None | Assuming the whole Freeport area qualifies |
| Land banker holding land for resale | No SDLT relief | Undeveloped stock for resale is excluded |
| Occupier fitting out a new unit | 100% allowances, rates relief, NICs relief | Plant not used primarily in the site |
| Development completing after the deadline | Reduced or no enhanced SBA | Programme slips past 30 September 2031 |
A London view
These reliefs are generous, and they are time-limited. The deadline is the risk: an enhanced SBA claim depends on the building being in use by the sunset date, so programme certainty is part of the tax case. We build warehouses, distribution and industrial schemes, and refit existing units, with an in-house delivery team. See our warehouse and logistics hub construction, distribution centre and storage and warehouse fit-out and refurbishment services, and our article on why investors are targeting logistics hubs. Our free Investor & Developer guide explains how we work with investors.
