Can I claim super-deduction if I use asset finance?

In the draft super-deduction legislation (published on 3 March 2021) plant and machinery investment incurred under “a hire purchase or similar contract” has to meet “additional conditions” to qualify for the super-deduction. Some people have inferred that the 130% tax break, therefore, excludes hire purchases (or asset finance arrangements more broadly). In fact, in a scenario where your company makes payments in order to acquire an asset, and where there is an expectation that legal ownership of the asset will at some point pass to you (i.e. the lessee, as is typically the case with hire-purchase agreements), the super-deduction should be available to you. But you need to be aware of the anti-avoidance provisions that apply to, for example, contrived arrangements, agreements with connected parties, and second-hand assets. And there is a clawback of the tax saving if your business disposes of the asset prior to 1 April 2023.