Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Plant and machinery definition

What does Plant and machinery mean? In legal practice, plant and machinery describes the equipment, apparatus and machines a business uses to carry on its trade, as distinct from the land or buildings in which it operates. The expression is used across multiple contexts and, for specific purposes, is informed by legislation and case law. For tax, what counts as plant and machinery determines entitlement to capital allowances (UK: Capital Allowances Act 2001; Ireland: Taxes Consolidation Act 1997), including treatment of fixtures and integral features. For non-domestic rating/valuation, regulatory lists identify which plant and machinery is rateable (with separate regulations in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern...

UK capital allowances on integral features: definitions, special rate, repairs 50% test, anti-avoidance, property sale elections and 2026 reforms

Published by a LexisNexis Tax expert

Practice notes

FORTHCOMING CHANGES:

At Budget 2025, the government outlined measures to be enacted via Finance Bill 2026:

A reduction in the writing-down allowance rate for main pool Plant and machinery from 18% to 14%, taking effect on 1 April 2026 for corporation tax and 6 April 2026 for income tax—affecting both companies and unincorporated businesses with main rate pools, including spend that does not qualify for, or predates, FYAs such as the super-deduction and full expensing.
A new 40% first-year allowance for qualifying main rate expenditure incurred from 1 January 2026, with fewer limitations than other FYAs—principally advantageous where the £1m AIA or existing FYAs (such as full expensing) are not available. It will apply to all businesses and include assets used for leasing (excluding overseas leasing); cars and second-hand assets are excluded.
An extension of the 100% green first-year allowances for qualifying zero-emission cars and electric vehicle charging points by one year to 31 March 2027 for corporation tax and 5 April 2027 for income tax.

Together, these changes reshape relief for main pool expenditure while enhancing upfront relief for targeted investments where AIA or current FYAs are otherwise inaccessible…

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Martin Wilson

A former Chartered Accountant, now retired, Martin is the author of more than a dozen books on capital allowances, including Bloomsbury Professional's Capital Allowances: Transactions and Planning. Martin co-founded The Capital Allowances Partnership Limited after 15 years with leading accounting firms, where he headed up the specialist capital allowances practice. He has personally advised some of the UK's leading companies, as well as a myriad of private investors, both in the UK and overseas....

Steven Bone

Gateley Legal

Steven is a tax-qualified chartered surveyor. He has specialised in capital allowances for more than 25 years, and more recently land remediation relief and R&D tax incentives. In his role as director at Gateley Capitus, Steven works with businesses that are buying, building or refurbishing commercial property, cleaning-up contaminated land and buildings or undertaking R&D activity to help them pay the right amount of tax by optimising the tax reliefs available to them.Prior to joining Gateley Capitus, Steven held senior roles in the Big 4, specialist boutique and national mid-tier accountancy firms. He is a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Association of Taxation Technicians.Alongside daily practice, Steven is a tax incentives writer and speaker for property investment and innovation activity. ...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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