What Is A Mezzanine Floor?

Mezzanine flooring is a very grey area from a capital allowances perspective. There are a couple of tests which HMRC look at, in order to ascertain the success or failure of mezzanine floors for capital allowances:

1.        Business Use Test

2.        Premises Test

For the Mezzanine floor to be considered plant for the purposes of capital allowances, the key will be what the mezzanine floor is used for. Two factors that will influence the decision to allow the mezzanine floor to be considered plant for capital allowances are:

The Floors Function: Is the mezzanine used solely for storage purposes and plays an active function in the course of trade? Is access to the mezzanine floor generally limited to staff only?

Structural Design:  Does the mezzanine retain a distinct and separate entity from the surrounding structure? Would the structure around the mezzanine flooring be complete without them? Can the mezzanine floor be removed easily without altering the building it’s situated within?

What this means is that for a mezzanine floor to qualify for capital allowances, it must meet the requirements of being a storage system. Mezzanine floors that are used for other business purposes or widely accessible to the public are unlikely to be allowable for capital allowances.

This is however a grey area and HMRC are likely to request evidence to support any capital allowance claim on mezzanine flooring, such as; photographs, drawings and specifications.

We feel that it’s probably best to approach your mezzanine floor project with the likelihood that your mezzanine floor won’t enable you to qualify for capital allowances. That way you know what your budget is and there won’t be any nasty surprises, only potentially a pleasant one.