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Ashton & Carrington
Capital Allowances · Office

£35,100 of allowances, hidden in the office.

How a modest suburban office produced a five-figure claim: proof that Capital Allowances aren't only for large property.

£35,100
Qualifying plant & machinery
20.6%
Share of purchase price
up to £15,795
Potential tax saved

The engagement

A professional-services firm bought its own two-storey freehold office for £170,000. The purchase had been treated entirely as property; we established what part of the price was, in substance, embedded plant.

Our approach

  • Desktop analysis plus a single site survey
  • Reconstruction costs from BCIS (RICS) and Spon's data; land value to VOA benchmarks
  • Apportioned to HMRC's formula under CAA 2001 s.562
  • Filing-ready report with statutory basis and pool allocation

The result

Main rate pool
£11,940
Special rate pool
£23,160
Total qualifying plant & machinery
£35,100

HMRC's apportionment formula

Q = P × A ÷ (B + C)

Q qualifying expenditure · P purchase expenditure · A reconstruction value of plant · B reconstruction value of building · C bare site value.

What that's worth in tax

Company, Corporation Tax at 25%
£8,775
Individual, higher rate 40%
£14,040
Individual, additional rate 45%
£15,795

Relief is given through writing-down allowances over time; where the Annual Investment Allowance or full expensing applies, much of the benefit can land in year one.

A real client engagement, anonymised to protect confidentiality. Figures do not constitute tax advice; outcomes depend on individual circumstances.

A fifth of the office's price had been paid for plant nobody had ever claimed.

More outcomes

Related case studies.

Real client engagements, anonymised to protect confidentiality. Figures do not constitute tax advice; outcomes depend on individual circumstances.

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