Annual Investment Allowance (AIA)
HMRC
What it funds
100% tax deduction on qualifying plant and machinery up to £1 million per accounting period — available to companies, sole traders and qualifying partnerships (unlike company-only full expensing).
Who can apply
UK businesses buying qualifying plant and machinery (cars, pre-owned and gifted assets excluded); £1m limit per accounting period.
Key criteria
- UK trading business
Last checked against the official source: see database refresh schedule. Scheme parameters are set by the funder and can change — verify before applying, or let us do it for you.
Related schemes
Analysis for Innovators (A4I)
Innovate UK
Periodic programme giving businesses funded access to national measurement laboratories (NPL, LGC, NEL) to solve productivity, quality and measurement problems no commercial lab can crack.
Growth Guarantee Scheme
British Business Bank
Successor to the Recovery Loan Scheme: government-backed guarantee enabling term loans, overdrafts and asset finance up to £2m for smaller UK businesses through accredited lenders.
Business Growth West Midlands Programmes
West Midlands Combined Authority
Regional business-support service for West Midlands SMEs with funded advice and periodic capital/revenue grant programmes (historically £2.5k-£100k waves) for growth, decarbonisation and digital projects.