Asset(s)

[VectraMan]

That's what I did - the laptop was about 6 months old, too. And strictly speaking, you don't need a receipt, since you can argue that you didn't keep it since you had no plans at that stage to have a company...

That argument is a little dubious. I think you'd have to argue that it was for work for a company you were planning on creating, which was my intention.

I bought mine off ebay, so didn't get a receipt. But I contacted the seller 3 months later and as he was actually a VAT registered company he was happy to give me a proper VAT receipt.

I guess there's a length of time where it wouldn't be reasonable to treat it as a new company purchase, but rather a purchase of second hand goods from you.

[XLMonkey]

I believe that HMRC guidance is that any assets bought up to 6 months prior to the formation of a company can be treated as expenses and bought onto the books (provided that they are legitimate company costs, of course). So, you could probably just treat the laptop in this way.

[xoggoth]

Worth noting that you can also claim capital allowances on personal equipment necessarily used for business purposes via your personal tax return.

[backlight]

Worth noting that you can also claim capital allowances on personal equipment necessarily used for business purposes via your personal tax return.

Which of the two would be more tax effective? I have the same issue with a personal laptop that I purchased just before I set up my ltd company.