Capital Allowances Act 2001 section 86

Short-life asset pool

Section 86 sets out the rules for how qualifying expenditure on short-life assets must be pooled and what happens when the short-life asset treatment expires.

• Qualifying expenditure on a short-life asset must be allocated to its own single asset pool, known as a "short-life asset pool".
• If the asset has not been disposed of before the relevant cut-off date, the pool ends and the remaining expenditure transfers to either the main pool or the special rate pool.
• The cut-off date is either the fourth anniversary (for expenditure incurred before April 2011) or the eighth anniversary of the end of the chargeable period in which the expenditure was first incurred.
• On transfer, expenditure on cars that are not main rate cars goes to the special rate pool; all other expenditure goes to the main pool.