• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Top notice bar

Call us on 08000 388799

Avanti Tax Accountants HomepageAvanti Tax Accountants

Bookkeeping, Accountancy and Taxation services

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Our Services
    • Bookkeeping & Accountancy
    • Corporation & Personal Tax
    • Payroll & CIS
    • Company Secretarial Bureau
    • Budgeting, Forecasting & Business Valuations
    • Mentoring & Business Coaching
    • Software & Training
  • Our Accountants
  • News & Insights
  • Send An Enquiry
Home » News & Insights » When Does A Cost Become An Investment?

When Does A Cost Become An Investment?

Posted on 20th April 2021

Costs are defined as something that has to be paid or spent to acquire something. Costs include the acquisition of:

  • An object, say material required to convert into saleable goods.
  • A service, for example, sub-contract labour or 
  • A right, the rates you pay to occupy business premises. 

In your accounts, these costs would appear as expenses or cost of sales in your profit and loss account. All of these costs have something in common, their usefulness tends to be restricted to the time at which they were purchased.

But what about costs – say the purchase of a computer – that should have a working life of say five years? This type of expenditure will not appear as a deduction from your profits as an expense, instead, it will appear as a fixed asset on your balance sheet and will be written off – over five years in the case of our computer – by depreciation.

We need a new word to describe this type of expenditure and the one we use is “investment”.

The distinction between a cost and an investment is significant. Generally speaking, a cost has value for a limited time period whereas an investment has the ability to impact current and future trading prospects.

As we emerge from lockdown, do not underestimate the recovery value of investment for your business. And government has offered company investors a timely tax incentive to invest.

In his recent budget, Rishi Sunak announced that qualifying investment in equipment would attract a 130% deduction for tax purposes (applies to companies from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2023). It’s worth considering this distinction. Costs will sustain your current trading performance, but investment expenditure will have the potential to create new opportunities in future years.

Source: Informanagement

To discuss the content of this article or aspects of your accounts services that MJB Avanti may assist with, call us on (08000) 388 799

Share this post:

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on E-mail

Filed Under: News

Disclaimer:- The information contained herein is given by way of general guidance only and no action should be taken solely on the basis of the information contained herein. The Avanti Group (UK) Ltd will be pleased to provide further guidance on the issues, and how they might affect you. No liability is accepted by the firm for any action taken without seeking appropriate professional advice

Footer

Navigate

  • Find An Accountant
  • About Us
  • News & Insights
  • Privacy Policy
  • Letter Of Engagement

Our Services

  • Software & Training
  • Mentoring & Business Coaching
  • Budgeting, Forecasting & Business Valuations
  • Company Secretarial Bureau
  • Payroll & CIS
  • Corporation & Personal Tax
  • Bookkeeping & Accountancy

Get In Touch

Tel: 08000 388799
Send us an enquiry

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Copyright © 2023 Avanti Tax Accountants · All Rights Reserved
Part of The Maurice J Bushell & Co Ltd Franchise (UK) Ltd · Company Reg: 10407313 and The Avanti Group (UK) Ltd · Company Reg: 04635630 · Created by Purple Hippo
  • So we can contact you to discuss your enquiry
  • So a member of our team from your area can contact you
  • By clicking ‘Send Enquiry’ you agree to receive contact from Avanti Tax Accountants using the details given above. We respect your personal information and your privacy and will not share or sell your information to other organisations. Please read our Privacy Policy for more information.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.