Capital Allowances Act 2001

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Capital Allowances Act 2001
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
Long title An Act to restate, with minor changes, certain enactments relating to capital allowances.
Citation 2001 c. 2
Territorial extentUnited Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 22 March 2001
Commencement chargeable periods ending on or after 6 April 2001 (income tax)
chargeable periods ending on or after 1 April 2001 (corporation tax)
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Capital Allowances Act 2001 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that governs how capital allowances are deducted from income taxable under the Income Tax Act 2007 and the Corporation Tax Act 2009.

An act of parliament, also called primary legislation, are statutes passed by a parliament (legislature). Act of the Oireachtas is an equivalent term used in the Republic of Ireland where the legislature is commonly known by its Irish name, Oireachtas. It is also comparable to an Act of Congress in the United States.

Parliament of the United Kingdom supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known internationally as the UK Parliament, British Parliament, or Westminster Parliament, and domestically simply as Parliament, is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and the overseas territories. Parliament is bicameral but has three parts, consisting of the Sovereign, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The two houses meet in the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the inner boroughs of the capital city, London.

Capital allowances is the practice of allowing a company to get tax relief on tangible capital expenditure by allowing it to be expensed against its annual pre-tax income. Generally, the capital allowances will exist for only specified items of tangible capital expenditure, and the expensing is usually spread over a fixed period of years. The term is used in the UK and in Ireland.

Types of allowances

Capital allowances fall under several categories: [1]

  • initial allowance (IA);
  • annual investment allowance (AIA)
  • first-year allowance (FYA);
  • writing down allowance (WDA);
  • balancing allowance.

Under the Act, they are available for specified types of claims: [2]

CAA 2001: available allowances
PartAllowanceIAAIAFYAWDA
2plant and machineryGreen check.svg [3] Green check.svg [4] Green check.svg [5]
3industrial buildingsGreen check.svg [6] Red x.svg [7]
4agricultural buildings [8]
4Aflat conversion [9]
5mineral extractionGreen check.svg [10]
6 research and development Green check.svg [11]
7know-howGreen check.svg [12]
8patentsGreen check.svg [13]
9dredgingGreen check.svg [14]
10 assured tenancies [15] Green check.svg [16]

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References

  1. "CA11101 - General: claims: types of capital allowance". HM Revenue and Customs.
  2. CAA 2001, s. 1
  3. on or after 1 April 2008 (for CT purposes) or 6 April 2008 (for IT purposes) that is not otherwise excluded: "CA23084 - PMA: Qualifying expenditure: Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) qualifying expenditure: what is AIA qualifying expenditure?". HM Revenue and Customs.
  4. restricted to specified qualifying activities: "CA23110 - Plant and Machinery Allowance (PMA): First Year Allowance (FYA): expenditure on which available and rates". HM Revenue and Customs.
  5. "CA23220 - PMA: WDA & balancing adjustments: Rate of WDA". HM Revenue and Customs.
  6. available in specified enterprise zones: "CA34050 - IBA: initial allowance: conditions". HM Revenue and Customs.
  7. withdrawn for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2011: "CA34050 - IBA: initial allowance: conditions". HM Revenue and Customs.
  8. withdrawn for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2011: "CA40050 - ABA: outline". HM Revenue and Customs.
  9. repealed by Finance Act 2012, with effect from April 2013 "CA43100 - Outline, background and definitions". HM Revenue and Customs.
  10. "CA50410 - MEA: Allowances and charges: How allowances are given". HM Revenue and Customs.
  11. 100% of qualifying expenditure or amount claimed, whichever is less: "CA60500 - RDA: Allowances and charges". HM Revenue and Customs.
  12. "CA71200 - Know-how: Allowances: Calculation of allowances and charges". HM Revenue and Customs.
  13. "CA75110 - Patents: Allowances: Calculation of allowances". HM Revenue and Customs.
  14. "CA80100 - Dredging: Outline". HM Revenue and Customs.
  15. where qualifying expenditure was incurred before 1 April 1992: "CA85200 - Assured Tenancy Allowances: Background and definitions". HM Revenue and Customs.
  16. available only to approved bodies owning specified buildings: "CA86000 - Assured Tenancy Allowances: Writing down allowances". HM Revenue and Customs.