New Ltd company start up questions

Hi,
I have just set up an Ltd company as I have been an IT contractor for about 4 years. There are 3 directors of the company but basically only 2 will be the doing the work and billing customers. There other director owns the office premises and provided a loan to start up.
Have a few questions:

Can the conversion of the once garage into an office be classed as an expense? Note the garage was built many years ago but the conversion has cost about €14,000 to bring it up to a usable state.
I have hired an accountant but he seems sketchy on this and keeps saying that it is more capital than expense, what exactly does he mean by this as regards expensing? Can I still deduct it from Gross income before paying tax on the remaining profit?

The reason I am asking is that I have used my personal savings and a loan from the owner of the property to complete its renovation. They are now asking that I setup a repayment system and I am wondering what is the best way to go about this? Should I simply just setup a direct debit from the business account to their personal account?

They also will be charging rent on the premises. Will they be liable for CGT if they ever sell the premises and is there a threshold on which they dont pay tax on the rent??

The other expenses I have incurred are 2 vehicles, 2 laptops and 1 PC, Printer/Scanner/Photocopier. These are exclusively used in the business but were purchased slightly before the company was formed. Are these still business expenses and should I allow for depreciation when including them?

The last question is setting up as an Employer/employee for PAYE/PRSI, which I have registered for.
I have not received notice back from the revenue yet on this but what forms will I need to complete once I do?

Your help is much appreciated

The garage conversion is a capital expense that you cannot get a tax deduction for. However, you should look closely at the money spent to see if any of it would be more correctly classified as expenditure on plant and machinery (such as moveable partitians, additional sockets etc). Capital allowances (rather than depreciation) are allowed at at rate of 12.5% over 8 years on plant & machinery (such as your laptops) and vehicles (subject to certain conditions).

Your landlord/director will be subject to CGT on a future sale of the property to the extent that the sales proceeds relate to the garage.

it sounds like you need a new accountant!! if he is sketchy on these matters you need someone who can advise you.

In relation to your PAYE registration, when you are registered you will need to do monthly P30's to submit the PAYE/PRSI deducted. If you are not familiar with this (and I'm assuming you're not or you wouldn't ask the question) you should really get your accountant (or a payroll provider) to do this for you.

Regards

podowd
www.prima.ie