The closing date for the next tranche of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II) is the 23rd of July 2021. It is very important to note that the final TAMS II tranche will be on 31st December 2021. Farmers who won’t have an application ready for the 23rd of July only have five months before this last tranche closes.
The grants available under TAMS II are 40% of €80,000 and this increases to 60% if an applicant is a Young Trained Farmer. Registered farm partnerships also allow for a “double” ceiling of a grant claimable on a total spend of up to €160,000.
The Low Emissions Slurry Equipment grant is another grant that is often forgotten about. The grants available here on certain slurry spreading equipment are 40% of €40,000 and this increases to 60% if an applicant is a Young Trained Farmer (must apply through YFCIS). Registered farm partnerships are allowed an additional ceiling with a total spend of up to €60,000.
The next tranche will open on the 24th of July and like previous years it would be expected to have two/three further tranches before the final deadline of 31st December 2021. While a farmer won’t miss out on being able to apply for TAMS II, if they apply in the wrong tranche it could delay their investments/time scale for their investment proposal.
Beware! Don’t rush the decision on investment for the sake of meeting a deadline, this could be far more costly than delaying your application and making the right investment for your farm. The following are three key areas when looking at capital investment.
Should You Make the Investment?
Will the capital expenditure give a Return on Investment?
Cash flow Pressures
Have you adequately financially planned the investment?
If borrowing, have you the required borrowing capacity?
Tax Planning Issues
Consider Value Added Tax (VAT), Income Tax and Capital Repayment Trap.