Finance Act 2011

11 Annual investment allowance

(1) Section 51A of CAA 2001 (entitlement to annual investment allowance) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (5) (maximum allowance), for “£100,000” substitute “£25,000”.

(3) In subsection (8) (power to amend maximum allowance), for “other” substitute “greater”.

(4) The amendment made by subsection (2) has effect in relation to expenditure incurred on or after the relevant day.

(5) Subsections (6) and (7) apply in relation to a chargeable period (“the actual chargeable period”) which—

(a) begins before the relevant day, and

(b) ends on or after that day.

(6) The maximum allowance under section 51A of CAA 2001 for the actual chargeable period is the sum of each maximum allowance that would be found if—

(a) the period beginning with the first day of the chargeable period and ending with the day before the relevant day, and

(b) the period beginning with the relevant day and ending with the last day of the chargeable period,

were treated as separate chargeable periods.

(7) But, so far as concerns expenditure incurred on or after the relevant day, the maximum allowance under section 51A of CAA 2001 for the actual chargeable period is the maximum allowance, calculated in accordance with subsection (6), for the period mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection.

(8) Subsections (6) and (7) are also to apply for the purpose of determining the maximum allowance under section 51K of CAA 2001 (operation of annual investment allowance where restrictions apply) in a case where one or more chargeable periods in which the relevant AIA qualifying expenditure is incurred are chargeable periods within subsection (5), but the modifications in subsections (9) to (11) are to apply.

(9) There is to be taken into account for the purpose mentioned in subsection (8) only chargeable periods of one year or less (whether or not they are chargeable periods within subsection (5)), and if there is more than one such period, only that period which gives rise to the greatest maximum allowance.

(10) For the purposes of subsection (9) any chargeable period—

(a) which is longer than a year, and

(b) which ends in the tax year 2012-13,

is to be treated as being a chargeable period of one year ending at the same time as it actually ends.

(11) The limit in section 51K(6) of CAA 2001 in relation to a chargeable period (“the chargeable period concerned”) is to be treated as reduced (but not below nil) by the amount of the annual investment allowance allocated to relevant AIA qualifying expenditure incurred in any other chargeable period which ends on or after the last day of the chargeable period concerned.

(12) Nothing in subsections (8) to (11) affects the operation of sections 51M and 51N of that Act.

(13) In this section “the relevant day” means—

(a) for corporation tax purposes, 1 April 2012, and

(b) for income tax purposes, 6 April 2012.