Self Assessment and AIA questions

nathandelabrum_2

Hello all. I am a self-employed window/carpet cleaner and this is the first year I'm doing my own return as my accounts are simple enough to not have to pay an accountant any more....or so I thought anyway! Here are my questions....

During the 11/12 tax year, I bought a new desk for my office at home. I use my office almost entirely for business use, so, can I claim maybe 90% of the cost of the desk under AIA (annual investment allowance)? Another question I have is regarding the allowance for small balance of unrelieved expenditure. In November 2009, I bought a car that I use for business and personal use and I have being claiming the appropriate amount under the 20% rule for the last 2 years of returns (so I can claim the capital for another 3 tax returns). I think the actual figure I've been claiming back for the vehicle is 172 pounds a year. Can I claim the remaining 3 years worth of capital allowance for my vehicle via the small balance of unrelieved expenditure pool in line with the desk I bought this year (as the total of these comes to less than a grand)? In other words....

I was planning on claiming 345 pounds for the desk.
I claim 172 pounds a year on my capital allowance for the car and I have 3 years remaining on that (3*172 = 516).
Can I claim 861 pounds under the small balance of unrelieved expenditure pool, or do I leave the 345 for the desk in AIA and claim 516 in the small balance bracket?

Another thing that I'm not sure matters or not....last week I had to scrap the car I bought in 2009, but as we are now in the 2012/13 tax year is this irrelevant (as the tax return I'm completing is for 2011/12 when my car was running fine)?

Hopefully this is all understandable! Thanks.

ceeforcat

Not sure that you should be doing your own return based on the above - still:

Capital Allowances are on a reducing balance basis. If the car cost you £1000 in 2009, your claim in the first year would be £200 (20% of £1000), £160 in the second year (20% of (£1000-£200) etc. The £172 per year idea is totally wrong. You also have to deduct your element of private use.

You cannot claim the balance of any Capital Allowances for the car under the AIA scheme in 2011/12, nor indeed the £516 in any form which I presume is £172 x 3.

The AIA for the desk seems plausible.

The car is scrapped 2012/13 at whcih point you CAN claim the remainder of the capital allowances on it - remember Capital Allowances would not be the same each year on a car.

nathandelabrum_2

Ok I see, having looked over my old returns that my accountant filed I can see he has indeed not claimed 172 pounds each year, it is decreasing...and that figure I mentioned of 172 has indeed already taken personal use into account. So regarding the capital allowance for the car, it should simply be claimed under the 20% WDA and not the small balance for unrelieved expenditure bracket (until next year)? Thanks.