What does 'entitled to an allowance' mean for fixtures under Capital Allowances Act 2001 section 202?

Under section 202, a person is entitled to an allowance for fixture expenditure if they have a capital allowances pool to which that expenditure has been allocated. This applies even where the expenditure merely reduces a balancing charge rather than generating a writing-down or first-year allowance directly.

When does entitlement to a capital allowance for a fixture cease under section 202?

Entitlement ceases from the next chargeable period after a disposal value for the fixture is brought into account in the pool under section 61(1). This cut-off applies only to section 61(1) disposal events. Other adjustments such as additional VAT rebates do not trigger loss of entitlement.

How does a partial change in use affect fixture entitlement under section 202?

When a fixture begins being used partly for non-qualifying purposes, a disposal value is brought into the original pool and entitlement there ceases. However, the expenditure is reallocated to a single asset pool, and the taxpayer is then treated as entitled to an allowance through that new pool until a further disposal event occurs.

What constitutes 'making a claim' for fixture expenditure under section 202?

A claim is made if a person formally claims a capital allowance, includes the expenditure in a tax return when calculating available qualifying expenditure, or amends a tax return to bring the expenditure into account. This broad definition ensures any route by which expenditure enters the computation counts as a claim.

Capital Allowances Act 2001 section 202

Interpretation

Section 202 defines key terms used throughout the fixtures chapter, specifically what it means to be "entitled to an allowance" in respect of fixture expenditure and what constitutes "making a claim" in respect of such expenditure.

A person is treated as entitled to an allowance for fixture expenditure if they have a capital allowances pool to which that expenditure has been allocated, even where the effect is simply to reduce a balancing charge
Once a disposal value for the fixture has been brought into account in a pool under the normal disposal rules, the person is no longer entitled to an allowance from that pool for any later chargeable period
The loss of entitlement only applies to disposal values triggered by section 61(1) disposal events — it does not apply to, for example, additional VAT rebates or the reallocation of expenditure to a single asset pool following a change in use
A person "makes a claim" in respect of expenditure if they claim an allowance, include the expenditure in a tax return when calculating available qualifying expenditure, or amend a tax return to include it

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