I n t his chapt er you will lear n t he r ules f or comput ing capit al allowances on plant and machiner y including:
- t he basic layout ; - pooling of expendit ur e;
- t he FYA pool;
- t he gener al pool;
- cheap car s;
- long lif e asset s;
- ex pensive car s;
- shor t lif e asset s.
St at ut or y r ef er ences in t his chapt er ar e t o CAA 2001 unless ot her wise st at ed.
B5.1 Basic computational layout
Capit al allowances comput at ions ar e pr epar ed f or account ing per iods, eg f or t he year ended 31 December 2006. Capit al allowances ar e a t r ading expense f or a business and should be deduct ed in ar r iving at t he t r ading income f igur e f or t he account ing per iod.
s. 6
Year ended 31 December 2006:
£
Adj ust ed pr of it s bef or e CAs X
Less: capit al allowances (CAs) (X)
Tr ading I ncome X
The t r ading income (i.e. af t er CAs) would t hen be t axed in 2006/ 07 under CYB.
To calculat e t he CAs we st ar t wit h t he t ax wr it t en down values br ought f or war d f r om t he pr evious per iod. W e t hen add in any addit ions in t he per iod (t he pr ice paid f or any plant or machiner y) and t ake of f any disposals (t he sale pr oceeds). W hen deduct ing pr oceeds we r est r ict t he deduct ion t o t he or iginal cost s of t he asset (see lat er ). This gives us t he t ot al amount on which we can claim allowances.
Allowances ar e calculat ed at 25%. These ar e deduct ed leaving t he wr it t en down value t o car r y f or war d t o next year .
s. 56
£ W r it t en down value (W DV) br ought f or war d X
Addit ions (pur chase pr ice) X
Disposals (sale pr oceeds – r est r ict ed t o cost ) (X)
X
Allowances @ 25% (X)
W r it t en down value (W DV) car r ied f or war d X
B5.2 Pooling of expenditure s. 53 W it hin t he capit al allowance comput at ion t her e will be var ious “heads” of ex pendit ur e.
These ar e:
Fir st year allowance pool Gener al pool
Long lif e asset s Expensive car s Shor t lif e asset s
B5.3 The first year allowances pool s. 39
The f ir st year allowance (FYA) pool will include expenditure on plant &
machinery qualifying for first year allowances. FYAs ar e nor mally available at 40% on qualif ying pur chases. This 40% r at e has been in f or ce since J uly 1998.
However , f or some businesses a 50% r at e applies (which we shall look at in t he next session). Q ualif ying pur chases ex cludes car s - mor e on t his lat er .
s. 52
s. 46
Addit ions qualif ying f or f ir st year allowances ar e ent er ed int o t his FYA pool. The FYA is deduct ed and t he balance is t r ansf er r ed t o t he gener al pool at t he end of t he per iod.
Ther e will never be a balance car r ied f or war d or br ought f or war d on t he FYA pool.
Illustration 1
Assume a t r ader has a wr it t en down value br ought f or war d on t he gener al pool of
£ 100,000. I n t he year asset s qualif ying f or 40% FYAs ar e pur chased f or £ 50,000. The capit al allowances comput at ion will be:
FYA Pool Gener al Pool Allowance W DV b/ f
£ £ 100,000
£ Addit ions 50,000
FYA (40%) (20,000) 20,000
W DA (25%) (25,000) 25,000
Tr ansf er t o gener al pool (30,000) 30,000
W DV c/ f 105,000 ______
Tot al allowances 45,000
B5.4 The general pool
The gener al pool includes anyt hing which is not specif ically included elsewher e. For example, plant and machiner y would go int o t he gener al pool if it did not qualif y f or a f ir st year allowance.
Capit al Allowances - Comput at ion 39
B5.5 Cheap cars s. 74
For account ing per iods ending bef or e 1 Apr il 2000, all car s pur chased which cost
£ 12,000 or less wer e pooled t oget her in t he “cheap car pool”.
The cheap car pool has now been abolished. Addit ions of “cheap” car s now go int o t he gener al pool and obt ain wr it ing down allowances (WDAs) at 25%. Ther e ar e no FYAs on car s.
B5.6 Long life assets s. 91
Long lif e asset s ar e asset s wit h a pr edict ed usef ul lif e of at least 25 year s. W e ar e looking at ver y dist inct ive expendit ur e her e – eg, in power st at ions et c, wher e t he ex pect ed usef ul lif e of asset s used in t he business is a long t ime.
Long lif e asset s ar e kept in a separate pool - t hey do not qualif y f or FYAs and do not go int o t he gener al pool. Expendit ur e on long lif e asset s will qualif y f or a writing down allowance of only 6%. This is subst ant ially lower t han t he nor mal 25% because t he lif e of t he asset is longer t han a nor mal asset – 25 year s is longer t han you would expect a nor mal piece of plant or machiner y t o last .
s. 102
However , t hese rules will not apply (i.e. t he asset will not be t r eat ed as a long lif e asset ), where expenditure in the year on such assets does not exceed
£100,000 in t ot al. These special “6%” r ules will t her ef or e most commonly apply t o lar ge companies.
s. 99
I f t he special r ules do not apply, t he asset would qualif y f or FYAs and any r esidue would be t r ansf er r ed t o t he gener al pool at t he end of t he per iod.
This £ 100,000 limit is adj ust ed f or shor t account ing per iods. For example, if a t r ader dr aws account s f or a six mont h account ing per iod, t he long lif e asset limit would be
£ 50,000. The £ 100,000 limit is also adj ust ed f or t he number of associat ed companies – mor e on t hat when you cover associat es wit hin your Cor por at ion Tax st udies.
I f an asset is acquir ed second-hand and had or iginally r eceived a 25% wr it ing down allowance, it will cont inue t o obt ain r elief at 25%.
I f an asset has been t r eat ed as a long lif e asset by a seller , t he buyer (r egar dless of how much he buys t he asset f or ) will also have t o t r eat t he asset as a long lif e asset - once a long lif e asset , always a long lif e asset .
B5.7 Expensive cars
An expensive car is any car cost ing more than £12,000. Each expensive car must be shown separ at ely in it s own capit al allowances column. Expensive car s ar e not pooled with any other assets.
s. 74
The annual writing down allowance is r est r ict ed t o t he lower of:
25%; or
£ 3,000
s. 75
W hen t he car is sold, a balancing allowance or char ge will ar ise.
Illustration 2
A t r ader dr aws account s t o 31 December . At 1 J anuar y 2005, t he wr it t en down value br ought f or war d is £ 90,000 on t he gener al pool and £ 20,000 on a BMW 735. I n t he year t he t r ader bought an Audi A6 f or £ 24,000 and sold t he BMW f or £ 12,000. The capit al allowances comput at ion will be:
Y/ e 31.12.05
Pool BMW 735 Audi A6 Allowances
£ £ £ £
W DV b/ f 90,000 20,000
Addit ion 24,000
Disposal (12,000)
Balancing Allowance 8,000 8,000
W DA (25%) (22,500) 22,500
W DA (r est r ict ed) ______ (3,000) 3,000
W DV c/ f 67,500 21,000 33,500
A balancing adj ust ment is made ever y t ime a “non pooled” asset (such as an ex pensive car ) is sold.
I n t his inst ance, as t he car has been sold f or less than its “tax value”, a balancing allowance ar ises. The balancing is allowance is t r eat ed in t he same way as a nor mal capit al allowance, i.e. it incr eases t he t ot al CAs due f or t he per iod.
I f t he car had been sold f or more than its “tax value” (ie f or mor e t han
£ 20,000 in t his example), a balancing char ge would have ar isen. A balancing char ge is ef f ect ively a “negat ive” allowance and will r educe t he t ot al CAs available f or t he per iod.
The wr it t en down values br ought f or war d at 1 J anuar y 2006 ar e £ 67,500 and
£ 21,000.
The capit al allowances comput at ion f or t he next per iod (y/ e 31 December 2006) will be:
Y/ e 31.12.06 Pool Audi A6 Allowances
£ £ £
W DV b/ f 67,500 21,000
W DA (25%) (16,875) 16,875
W DA (r est r ict ed) ______ (3,000) 3,000
W DV c/ f 50,625 18,000 19,875
Capit al Allowances - Comput at ion 41
B5.8 Short life assets s. 83 – s. 84
An elect ion can be made t o depool cer t ain asset s which have a pr edict ed useful life of no more than 4 years. The ef f ect of t he elect ion is t hat t he asset s ar e dealt wit h separ at ely, i.e. t hey ar e not put int o t he gener al pool but inst ead st and on t heir own in a separ at e column.
s. 85
A balancing allowance will usually ar ise if t he asset is sold wit hin t he 4 year per iod.
I f t he asset is st ill in use mor e t han 4 year s of t he end of t he year of acquisit ion (i.e. af t er 5 lot s of W DAs have been claimed on it ), t he wr it t en down value is t r ansf er r ed t o t he gener al pool.
s. 86
Ther e is no downside t o making a shor t lif e asset elect ion (ot her t han having t o do t he associat ed paper wor k). W e deal wit h t he asset separ at ely f or 4 year s. I f it is sold wit hin 4 year s of t he end of t he per iod of acquisit ion and pr oceeds ar e less t han t he wr it t en down value br ought f or war d, a balancing allowance will ar ise. I f t he asset is st ill owned af t er 5 wr it e-downs, t he balance in t he shor t lif e asset column is t r ansf er r ed acr oss t o t he gener al pool.
Illustration 3
A t r ader dr aws account s f or t he year ended 31 Oct ober 2004. The wr it t en down value br ought f or war d on t he gener al pool was £ 30,000. A comput er was bought f or £ 12,000 in t he per iod (no f ir st year allowances wer e available on t he comput er ).
A shor t lif e asset elect ion has been made in r espect of t he comput er . The capit al allowances comput at ion will be:
Y/ e 31.10.04 Gener al pool Comput er Allowances W DV b/ f
£ 30,000
£ £
Addit ion 12,000
W DA (y/ e 31.10.04) (7,500) (3,000) 10,500
22,500 9,000
W DA (y/ e 31.10.05) (5,625) (2,250) 7,875
16,875 6,750
W DA (y/ e 31.10.06) (4,219) (1,688) 5,907
12,656 5,062
W DA (y/ e 31.10.07) (3,164) (1,266) 4,430
9,492 3,796
W DA (y/ e 31.10.08) (2,373) (949) 3,322
7,119 2,847
Tr ansf er t o pool 2,847 (2,847)
9,966
W DA (y/ e 31.10.09) (2,492) 2,492
7,494
I f t he comput er had been sold at any t ime dur ing t he f ir st f our year s f or less t han it s wr it t en down value, a balancing allowance would have been available.
I f however t he or iginal expendit ur e had been put int o t he gener al pool, t he pr oceeds would simply be deduct ed f r om t he gener al pool and no balancing allowance would be given.
The ef f ect of “depooling” an asset int o it s own column is t o give t he t r ader t he oppor t unit y of realising the balancing allowance sooner t han would ot her wise be t he case.
Example 1
Below is a pr of or ma capit al allowance comput at ion f or t he year ended 30 J une 2005. Ther e is a wr it t en down value br ought f or war d on t he gener al pool and a BMW car . W e ar e t hen given t he nor mal headings - addit ions, disposals, f ir st year allowances at 40%, wr it ing down allowances at 25%, balancing allowance, t r ansf er and wr it t en down value car r ied f or war d.
Assume t hat t he BMW car is sold f or £ 11,000 in t he year , a Skoda car is bought f or £ 8,000 and some equipment is pur chased f or £ 6,000.
Compute the allowances due and complete the computation.
FYA Pool Gener al Pool BMW car Allowances
£ £ £ £
W DV b/ f 102,000 15,000
Addit ions:
Disposals:
FYA ( )
W DA ( )
BA ( )
Tr ansf er t o gener al pool ( ) W DV c/ f
Tot al allowances
Capit al Allowances - Comput at ion 43
Example 2
Ted owns an engineer ing business in Shef f ield. I n t he year t o 30 Sept ember 2005 t he f ollowing inf or mat ion is given:
W DV b/ f £
Gener al pool 60,000
Expensive car 10,000
Long lif e asset 104,000
Shor t lif e asset (acquir ed 1.7.00) 20,000
Addit ions:
Plant and equipment (40% FYA due) 12,000
Renault Clio 9,000
Disposals – plant (or iginal cost £ 2,000) 2,800 Calculate the total allowances due for the year.
Answer 1
FYA Pool Gener al Pool BMW car Allowances
£ £ £
W DV b/ f 102,000 15,000
Addit ions:
Car 8,000
Equipment 6,000 ______
110,000
Disposals (11,000)
FYA (2,400) 2,400
W DA (27,500) 27,500
BA (4,000) 4,000
Tr ansf er t o gener al
pool (3,600) 3,600
W DV c/ f 86,100
Tot al allowances £33,900
I t is best t o appr oach t hese pr of or ma comput at ions by dealing with additions and disposals in the year first.
The BMW was sold f or £ 11,000. Disposals pr oceeds of £ 11,000 ar e t her ef or e deduct ed in t he BMW car column.
A Skoda was pur chased f or £ 8,000, so it will be ent er ed int o t he gener al pool.
Remember £ 8,000 is not enough f or t he Skoda t o be r egar ded as an expensive car . Also first year allowances are not available on cars – 25% WDAs are given on cars.
Finally, equipment pur chased f or £ 6,000 goes int o t he FYA pool.
Now deal wit h t he allowances. The BMW car has a balancing adjustment as it is in it s own column - t he wr it t en down value is £ 15,000, t he disposal pr oceeds ar e
£ 11,000, t her ef or e we have a balancing allowance of £ 4,000. W e t ake t hat acr oss t o t he allowances column.
I n t he gener al pool t her e ar e qualif ying cost s of £ 110,000 on which W DAs ar e available at 25%. W DAs of £ 27,500 ar e deduct ed and t hese allowances ar e t aken acr oss t o t he allowances column. Finally, t he expendit ur e in t he FYA pool will qualif y f or 40% f ir st year allowances of £ 2,400 (again t he amount claimed is t aken acr oss and r ef lect ed in t he allowances column). Tot al allowances f or t he per iod ar e £ 33,900. This is a t r ading expense f or Tr ading I ncome pur poses.
I n or der t o complet e t he comput at ion, £ 3,600 is transferred from the FYA pool into the general pool. The wr it t en down value car r ied f or war d on t he gener al pool is £ 86,100.
Capit al Allowances - Comput at ion 45
Answer 2
FYA Pool
Gener al Pool
Expensive Car
Long lif e asset s
Shor t lif e asset s
Allowances
£ £ £ £ £ £
W DV b/ f 60,000 10,000 104,000 20,000
Tr ansf er 20,000 (20,000)
Addit ions 12,000 9,000
Disposal (2,000)
87,000
FYA (40%) (4,800) 4,800
W DA (25%) (21,750) (2,500) 24,250
W DA (6%) (6,240) 6,240
Tr ansf er (7,200) 7,200 ____ _____ _____
W DV c/ f 72,450 7,500 97,760 35,290
The shor t lif e asset was acquir ed on 1 J uly 2000. This means t hat by t he st ar t of t his year we would have already taken 5 WDAs t o dat e, so we must transfer that short life asset to the general pool.
The Renault Clio bought f or £ 9,000 goes int o t he gener al pool. Remember t her e ar e no f ir st year allowances ar e given on car s.
W e also have a disposal in t he year . W e restrict the disposal proceeds to the actual cost of the asset. So £ 2,000 is deduct ed in t he gener al pool. This leaves us wit h £ 87,000 of expendit ur e in t he gener al pool which will qualif y f or t he 25% wr it ing down allowance.
Next we will deal wit h t he f ir st year allowance of 40% on t he equipment cost ing
£ 12,000. £ 4,800 goes acr oss int o t he allowances column.
W e also have W DAs of 25%. These ar e £ 21,750 on t he gener al pool and £ 2,500 on t he expensive car . That means we put a f ur t her £ 24,250 in t he allowances column.
The long life asset get s a 6% W DA. £ 6,240 goes int o t he allowances column.
W e t r ansf er t he balance on t he FYA pool int o t he gener al pool at t he year end and show t he car r ied f or war d values f or complet eness.