Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

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 plant and machinery capital allowances: types, rates, AIA, first‑year allowances (super‑deduction, full expensing), special‑rate, short‑life and long‑life assets, with 2026/27 updates

Published by a LexisNexis Tax expert

Practice notes

FORTHCOMING CHANGES:

At Budget 2025, the government set out measures to be legislated in Finance Bill 2026.

From 1 April 2026 for corporation tax and 6 April 2026 for income tax, the main pool writing-down allowance will drop from 18% to 14%. This affects companies and unincorporated businesses with main rate expenditure, including items that do not qualify for, or pre-date, FYAs such as the super-deduction and full expensing.
A new 40% first-year allowance will apply to qualifying main rate expenditure incurred from 1 January 2026. With fewer restrictions than other FYAs, it is expected to assist spend not otherwise eligible for the £1m AIA or existing FYAs (such as full expensing). It will be available to all businesses, will cover assets used for leasing (but not overseas leasing), and will exclude cars and second-hand assets.
The 100% green first-year allowances for qualifying zero-emission cars and electric vehicle charging points will be extended by one year to 31 March 2027 for corporation tax and 5 April 2027 for income tax.

Capital allowances provide tax relief on certain capital costs, typically over time, with accelerated reliefs available; Plant and machinery remains the most advantageous category...

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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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