Writing Down Allowances and Pools
In a separate article, we looked at First Year Allowance (FYA) that typically involves allowing taxpayers to write off a percentage of the expenditure of providing a capital asset in the year it was acquired. Writing Down Allowance (WDA) is different in that you can claim up to a set percentage of the balance (such as 20%) to be claimed as capital allowance each year. The allowance is calculated on the written-down value, i.e. original cost minus all the capital allowances claimed in past years.
The above practice is clearly evident in the case of single assets. In the case of these assets, when the asset is disposed off, the disposal value is compared with the written down value and a “balancing adjustment” is made. If the disposal value is higher, the excess capital allowance claimed in past years is added back in current year as “balancing charge.” If the disposal value is lower than the written down value, the difference in value is allowed to be claimed in that year as “balancing allowance.”
The scenario becomes somewhat complex when more than one asset is “pooled” for capital allowance purposes. Pooling involves adding expenditure on new assets to the pool total and deducting disposal proceeds from the total. If disposal proceeds exceed the expenditure in the pool, the excess is added to income as balancing charge.
Balancing allowances are not allowed in the case of pooling until the qualifying activity ends. At that time, any remaining qualifying expenditure in the pool is allowed as a balancing allowance.
Certain assets are required to be accounted separately for capital allowance purposes. These are single asset pools, and either a balancing charge or balancing allowance can arise when the asset is disposed off. Assets to be maintained as single asset pools include:
- Cars above the cost threshold where the expenditure was incurred before 1 April 2009 (where the taxpayer is within the charge to corporation tax) or 6 April 2009 (where the taxpayer is within the charge to income tax) CA23500;
- Short life assets CA23600;
- Ships CA25000;
- Assets used partly for other purposes CA27000;
There can be more than one multi-asset pools and the long-life asset pool is of particular significance for property businesses. We will look at the issue in a separate article.
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Owner of Fixtures: Elections between Lessor and Lessee
A lease can be of a building or land which is received by the lessee along with several permanent fixtures forming part of the asset. Alternatively, the lease can be an equipment lease for plant and machinery purchased by a lessor and leased out to a lessee. The plant and machinery then becomes a fixture to a building or land used for carrying on a qualifying activity.
In the case of equipment lease mentioned above, the lessor and lessee can jointly elect to treat the lessor as the owner of the fixture provided certain conditions are met. These conditions are:
- The lessee is carrying on a qualifying activity and the leased equipment is used in this activity
- The lessee would have been entitled to claim PMA if that person had incurred the expenditure for providing the equipment
- The plant and machinery becomes a fixture by being fixed to land that is neither a building nor part of a building
- The lessee has an interest (including lease) in the land
- The lessor is entitled to sever the fixture at the end of the lease period and the severed fixture can then be used at another premises for the same purpose
- Under the lease agreement, the lessor will own the equipment on its being so severed
- The lease is one that comes under the category of an “operating” lease (as distinct from a “financing” lease) and
- The plant and machinery is not intended for use in a dwelling house
A similar election can be made where:
- An energy services provider provides plant and machinery that becomes a fixture in a relevant land
- The client of the provider has an interest in the relevant land and the provider doesn’t have such interest
- The provider or a person connected with the provider operates the plant and machinery for the client and
- The plant and machinery is not provided for leasing or for use in a dwelling house
If elections are made as above, the lessee (or client in the case of energy services) will not be treated as the owner of the fixture under section 176 of the Capital Allowances Act 2001 for claiming PMA.
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