With
AIA having been due to revert back to £200,000 from 1 January 2021, many
farming businesses had to consider bringing forward planned capital
expenditure. With a large number of farming businesses having a year end of 31
March, any large expenditure incurred between January 2021 and this 31 March
2021 year end would find the annual amount of £200,000 pro-rated to £50,000,
further reducing the relief available.
Chris
Solt, lead agricultural partner at Lovewell Blake welcomed the news. “The
ability to claim full tax relief on qualifying capital expenditure is vital to
the agricultural sector.
Given
the large outlays needed to purchase a new piece of farm machinery, even when
purchased on finance, being able to accelerate the tax relief on the
expenditure will greatly assist the farm’s cash flow.”
Qualifying
capital expenditure for farming businesses isn’t just the expected machinery
such as combines, tractors, ploughs, drills and sprayers. It also includes any
‘integral features’ eg. electrical and plumbing systems for farm buildings,
computer systems, solar panels and wind turbines.
“While
tax relief should never be the deciding factor as to whether a farming business
makes a capital purchase, it is an important consideration when it comes to the
timing of the expenditure,” Mr Solt added. “I am sure many of our farming
clients will welcome the Government’s news and will no longer feel pressured to
rush machinery purchases to before the end of the year.”
