Clock ticks on investment allowance relief

JCB Finance in the United Kingdom is urging customers who have made taxable profits not to forget about the temporary increase in Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) tax relief that was announced in the 2018 Autumn Budget.

The AIA was increased to £1 million (US$1.3 million) per year until January 1, 2021 to help support British businesses to invest and grow by accelerating the relief that would normally be applied over several years.

Depending a business’s financial year-end, the cut off for benefiting from the increase can be sooner rather than later.

For example, a company whose financial year-end is March needs to make the purchase(s) or enter into a hire purchase agreement before April 1, otherwise the allowance available would begin to reduce.

Most businesses can claim the AIA against qualifying assets such as plant and machinery or commercial vehicles placed on hire purchase just as if they had paid cash.

Businesses are also encouraged to check out the lead times on orders of new plant and machinery because the relief is only available in the financial year when the purchase is made.