Buying a van, car, or piece of equipment for the business? The tax relief varies enormously depending on what you buy and how you buy it. A £40,000 van can be written off in full in year one, while a £40,000 high-emission car gets just 6% a year. This calculator applies the FA 2026 rules (14% main-rate writing down allowance, the new 40% first-year allowance for companies) and shows your year-one and four-year tax saving at your marginal rate.
Only used when the asset is a car. Vans and equipment ignore this.
The rate the allowance saves tax at. Companies in the £50k to £250k band save at an effective 26.5% on each marginal pound.
Sole traders and partnerships must restrict the claim for private use. Companies claim in full; a director's private use is taxed as a benefit in kind instead.
The AIA relieves the full cost in year one and beats the 40% first-year allowance whenever you have AIA headroom. The 40% FYA matters only if your total qualifying spend this year exceeds £1 million.