CA23520 - PMA: Cars: Single asset pool, restriction on WDA and contributions

CAA01/S74 - S76

If the expenditure on a car exceeds £12,000 and the car is not a qualifying hire car CA23510, or a qualifying car with low carbon dioxide emissions CA23153, the expenditure is put into a single asset pool. The WDAs are calculated in the normal way and then restricted to an annual amount of £3,000.

Example Geronimo draws up his accounts to 31 December each year. He buys a Cadillac to use in the business for £36,000 on 4 July 2002 and claims WDAs. This is the capital allowance computation for the year ended 31 December 2002.

Cost of Cadillac£36,000
WDA restricted to £3,000£3,000
Written down value carried forward £33,000

If Geronimo had drawn up his accounts for the 8 months to 31 August 2002 the WDA on the Cadillac would have been £2,000 (= £3,000 x 8/12).

If a person receives a contribution towards the expenditure on a car costing more than £12,000 the person making the contribution can claim WDAs on the contribution in the normal way. However, the annual WDAs for the person making the contribution and the recipient are restricted to a total of £3,000. Effectively the £3,000 is divided between them.

Example In the example above Geronimo receives a contribution of £12,000 from Sonny. Sonny’s annual WDAs are restricted to £1,000 (= £3,000 x £12,000 / £36,000) and Geronimo's are restricted to £2,000 (= [£36,000 - £12,000] / £36,000).