For a number of years there has been a generous 100% tax break for businesses that install energy saving technology in their premises. This is in addition to the £200,000 annual investment allowance for plant and machinery.

The technology that qualifies for this 100% tax break includes energy efficient boilers and energy saving lighting systems. This is set out in the government’s energy-saving technology list. The list is updated each year. It was announced in the Autumn Budget that new technologies were being added but also certain items such as Biomass fired warm air heaters would no longer qualify from 1 April 2018.

Note also that where the expenditure has the effect of creating or increasing a loss for corporation tax purposes, the company can obtain a repayable first year tax credit. This credit, based on the amount of the loss attributable to the energy-saving technology spend, reduces to 2/3 of the corporation tax rate from 1 April 2018. Thus the relief reduces from 19% to just 12.67% from 1 April 2018.