Driving Instructor Car and Capital Allowance

Can a newly bought dual controlled tuition car be a capital allowance cost. I've copied and pasted below some info from the Web. Thanks... Ian "If the car has dual controls it may qualify for 100% Annual Investment Allowance claim, if this is the case you can claim up to the full cost of the price in the year of purchase – adjusted for reasonable private use."

Hi John Clark,
Yes, you can claim the full business cost as a Annual Investment Allowance:
Guidance here: 
Claim capital allowances
Thank you. 



 

Hi, Can I just expand on this. So assuming I claim the full business cost as an Annual Investment Allowance for the tax year I bought the car... When it comes to the following year am I then able to claim with 'Flat Rate' or 'Actual Costs' Capital Allowances? Thanks Wayne

Hi Wayne Sanderson,

You cannot claim simplified mileage expenses if you’ve already claimed for the vehicles in another way.
You will therefore need to claim for actual costs.

Thank you.

 

Can I claim the full business cost as an Annual Investment Allowance for a SECOND HAND, dual controlled car? Thanks.

Hi Humphbabe,
'Yes' as this counts as a car under Plant and Machinery Allowances.
Please refer to:
CA23510 - Plant and Machinery Allowances (PMA): cars: outline - meaning of ‘car’
and
https://www.gov.uk/capital-allowances
So can be claimed as annual investment allowancess its not a car. 
Thank you. 

Hi, If I was to purchase a second hand car and pay in full, am I able to claim the cost over a few years? For example claim 25% of the cost of the car over 4 years rather than the full cost in the first year? If the car is financed, is the full yearly finance costs deductible? Thanks

Hi Gurps

You can write down the acquisition costs of the asset as an expense against your profits each year.  
The rate that the asset can be written down, depends on which pool it falls into.  If the vehicle is also used for private use, this element cannot be claimed for.  
Have a look at Work out your writing down allowances.

Thank you

Hi, I bought a dual control car this year with a loan. I understand that I can claim 100% Annual Investment Allowance in the year of purchase. BUT can I claim interest I’m paying on the loan -aswell?

Hi Dean,

Dual control cars do not count as business cars for plant and machinery under capital allowances. Please refer to links below on what you can claim.

Claim capital allowances

CA23510 - Plant and Machinery Allowances (PMA): cars: outline - meaning of ‘car’

Thank you.

Hi I’m a bit confused on what I can and can’t claim back through a Cash Basis for purchasing a Dual Control car. Can I claim the loan payments including all the interest as I read its interest only up to £500? Dave

Hi David Smith

Please refer to Expenses if you're self-employed

Thank you

Hi, I have a question regarding simplified tax. The annual investment allowance for driving school vehicles, can this claim be made in the self assessment simplified tax section as a detailed breakdown. Or would I have to use traditional accounting rules. Thanks in advance. Ken.

Hi Kendo65,
You cannot use the simplified version for car expenses on a driving instuctor car.
Please see guidance here:
BIM75005 - Simplified expenses: expenditure on motor vehicles
Thank you. 

 

I'm getting confused with conflicting information.... On this thread, 11 months ago, John Clark asked about a dual controlled car qualifying for 100% Annual Investment Allowance. Admin 25 said it could be claimed as a business cost and gave the link to Capital Allowances. 8 months ago, someone asked the same thing for a second hand dual control car and was told by Admin 20 that as it was considered plant and machinery, yes, AIA Could be could be claimed. They provided a link to Plant and Machinery. However, following that link, it says "Do not treat the following vehicles as cars for PMA purposes: Cars used by a driving school and fitted with dual control mechanisms (Bourne v Auto School of Motoring (Norwich) Ltd 42TC217)" 3 months ago, Admin 32, advises that dual controlled cars are not classed as plant and machinery And so to my question..... I have purchased a new electric vehicle (using a loan) which I use 90% of the time as a driving school car (dual controlled). My understanding is that it is not plant and machinery, so I can't claim capital allowances on it. a) is Capital Allowance the same as Annual Investment Allowance? b) If I claim 100% (90%) in the first year, it will put me into a large negative profit and I'll lose personal allowance, so can I claim 18% over the next 5 years? Many thanks.

Hi Smircat1

They are slighlty different, and you are correct in that AIA is not available. You can opt for written down - Work out your writing down allowances

Thank you

Driving instructors can claim capital allowances for their cars used in the business. This allows them to deduct a portion of the car's cost from their taxable profits. The allowance rate depends on the car's CO2 emissions, with lower-emission vehicles qualifying for higher allowances. Keep detailed records to support your claims.

I have started my SE business in october 2023 and I need to submit my self assessment for 23-24 tax year. I have bought a second hand car and fitted dual controls at a garage. I would like to confirm if I can claim the full cost of the car in the first year as Annual Investment Allowance or because the car is fitted the dual control later it does not qualify?

Hi,
You can see that the guidance on annual investment allowance below advises you cannot claim a business car against annual investment allowance:
Annual investment allowance
CA23535 - Plant and Machinery Allowances (PMA): cars: outline of rules 
You can either write down the value of the car, or if the car qualifies, it can be be claimed under 100% first year allowance.
Cars used by a driving school and fitted with dual control mechanisms cannot be treated a cars for plant and machinery allowance. You can see guidance here: 
CA23510 - Plant and Machinery Allowances (PMA): cars: outline - meaning of ‘car’
Thank you.