As we start the new year many of us will have plans to expand our business or perhaps look at new products and services. This may not be possible, however, without the extra costs involved in purchasing new equipment, new software and so on.

This extra cost burden can be off putting but if you take advantage of the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) did you know that you can offset your investment in equipment and technology against tax?

Better still you can offset 100% of the investment against your taxable business income so not only do you get to improve your business operation and innovate, you can also reduce your tax burden at the same time. The allowance was also recently increased from £200k to £1million.

If you are planning to take advantage of the AIA this year you can use asset finance to spread the cost rather than invest all the cash in your business up front. This multiplies the benefit to your business.

The AIA was originally introduced in 2008 and the recent increase from £200k to £1million is designed to help stimulate investment in business at a time when it will be needed more than ever in the UK.