Capital expenditure
This section provides information on capital expenditure for schools
Includes:
- cost of land acquisition including fees and charges related to the acquisition
- cost of acquiring existing buildings, including fees and charges related to the acquisition
Excludes:
- construction of new buildings (see CE02)
Includes:
- cost of new construction, including fees
- cost of conversions and renovations
- cost of extension to existing premises
Excludes:
- cost of land and existing buildings (see CE01)
- costs for conversion and renovation under the school’s de minimis threshold - this is revenue spending (see E12)
Includes:
- any capitalised expenditure, including the acquisition, renewal or replacement of vehicles, equipment or machinery to be used at the school
Excludes:
- capital expenditure on ICT equipment (see CE04)
- leasing costs – schools are not allowed to enter into finance leases, and all operating lease costs are revenue
Includes:
- purchase of computer hardware and software where these are to be capitalised
Excludes:
- where costs of ICT consultancy can be identified separately, they should be allocated under the specific revenue expenditure groups (see E27 – E28)
- costs of training for staff in the use of ICT systems (see E09)
- leasing costs – schools are not allowed to enter finance leases and all operating lease costs are revenue
Further information
Small purchases should not be capitalised. Your local authority should advise on an appropriate (de minimis) value, below which transactions should be charged to revenue.
Illustrative example:
- a local authority sets a de minimis level of £2000
- a school buys one computer costing £500 – revenue expenditure
- a school buys five computers costing £500 each, or £2,500 in total – capital expenditure