Limited time only - don’t sleep on it! T&Cs apply. Learn more
The Annual Investment Allowance (or “AIA”) is a tax relief. It can be claimed by sole traders, limited companies and partnerships. If you’re a sole trader, you can claim it for buying equipment that you use for your business. It’s a kind of capital allowance.
If you buy a piece of equipment that qualifies for the AIA, you can deduct 100% of its cost when you calculate your profit was and how much tax you need to pay on that profit. The types of equipment that are usually eligible for the AIA are things like tools and machinery.
When the AIA was introduced in 2008, it was primarily to encourage businesses to invest in PPE (property, plant and equipment) to push economic growth. Here are some examples of what you can claim back:
Here are a couple of things to be aware of before you claim AIA:
One of the things that doesn’t qualify for AIA is a car; however, you can claim writing down allowances for this instead. This allows you to make a claim spread out over several years instead of all at once. Read more about the specifics of claiming AIA via HMRC online.
Sign up for important updates, deadline reminders and basic tax hacks sent straight to your inbox.
"*" indicates required fields
Or see our Guides, Calculators or Taxopedia