The Annual Capital Expenditures Survey (ACES) provides statistics on capital spending for new and used structures and equipment (includes capitalized software) by U.S. nonfarm businesses with and without paid employees.

Data collection begins about 3 months after the end of the reference year and continues for 9 months; businesses report data for the prior calendar year. 

The Census Bureau collects comprehensive and timely information about the nature and level of capital expenditures in the U.S. through ACES and your response provides public and private decision makers with an important indicator of future economic activity and growth. Capital expenditures data also are important components of U.S. productivity, competitiveness, and economic performance.

To see the latest capital expenditures statistics, click Data on the left side of this page.

To report online:

1. Sign-in or Register at https://portal.census.gov
2. Add your authentication code.
3. Report by clicking on “REPORT NOW.”  You can return to your account over multiple sessions to complete.
4. For assistance completing this survey, please log-in to your Census Bureau account at https://portal.census.gov and send us a secure message or call the customer help line at 1-800-528-3049, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
   
5. Please visit How Do I Get Started? for additional information.

Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.), Sections 131 and 182, authorizes this collection. Sections 224 and 225 require your response.

Title 13, United States Code, Section 9, requires the Census Bureau to keep your information CONFIDENTIAL and can use your responses only to produce statistics. The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify your business, organization, or institution. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.

Below are a few common items you can use to verify the legitimacy of this survey:

1. Ensure the Web address provided in the letter is a "census.gov" domain.
   
2. Correspondence will contain reporting instructions and a toll-free number for survey assistance.
3. On the log-in screen, a warning message should be present stating the respondent is accessing a U.S. Government computer.
   
4. After clicking on the “Report Now” button in the Respondent Portal, the OMB Number and OMB Approval Expiration information will appear in the upper right of the first screen of the electronic reporting instrument.  The bottom of the screen should have a link for the “Burden Statement” which also contains the OMB eight-digit number.