Minimising tax bills by claiming capital allowances is an important part of cashflow management during difficult economic times. A number of key changes have been made to the capital allowances rules recently, including Treasury announcements and new rules relating to fixtures in purchased property.

In particular, the government has cut the main pool rate of writing-down allowance for most plant and machinery from 20% to 18% (of the reducing balance). The application dates for corporation tax began on 1 April 2012, while application for income tax was effective on 6 April 2012.