Commercial · 39-year property
Cost Segregation for Grocery and Convenience Stores
Refrigeration is the story. A grocery or convenience store carries a plant's worth of mechanical equipment devoted entirely to keeping product cold, and almost none of it is building.
Refrigeration and dedicated power
Compressor racks, condensers, refrigerant piping, case wiring, walk-in coolers and freezers, heat reclaim and controls exist to serve merchandising equipment. Along with the dedicated electrical service, panels and emergency circuits that support them, they belong on a 5-year schedule.
Fuel canopies and site work
Convenience stores add a substantial site component: fuel canopies and their foundations, dispenser islands, underground tanks and piping, vapor recovery, concrete drive lanes rated for tanker traffic, air and vacuum stations, car wash equipment and heavy site lighting. Different elements land in different classes, which is exactly why an engineering-based allocation matters here more than a rule of thumb.
Component takeoff
What we pull out of grocery & convenience stores
Grouped by the recovery period each component lands on. This is representative, not exhaustive — the takeoff on your building will be longer.
- 5Refrigeration racks, compressors, condensers and controls
- 5Refrigerant piping, case wiring and heat reclaim systems
- 5Walk-in coolers, freezers and beer caves
- 5Dedicated electrical service, panels and emergency circuits
- 5Decorative and merchandising lighting
- 5Checkout counters, food-service millwork and display fixtures
- 5Deli, bakery and food-prep equipment power and plumbing
- 5POS, security, fuel-control and network cabling
- 5Car wash equipment, reclaim and dedicated plumbing
- 7Loose shelving, gondolas and store equipment
- 7Office and back-room furniture
- 15Concrete drive lanes, aprons and heavy-duty paving
- 15Fuel canopy foundations and dispenser island hardscape
- 15Underground tanks, piping and containment where classified as improvements
- 15Site and canopy lighting, poles and bollards
- 15Pylon signage foundations and price signs
- 15Landscaping, irrigation, screening and storm drainage
- 15Air and vacuum station pads and trash enclosures
- 39Building shell, structure, roof and exterior envelope
- 39Base HVAC and comfort conditioning
- 39Restrooms, core plumbing and fire protection
Questions
How much of the basis usually reclassifies on this property type?
Studies on grocery & convenience stores typically move 26% to 40% of depreciable basis into 5, 7 and 15-year classes. That is a planning range from comparable buildings, not a promise — the number that ends up on your return comes from the actual takeoff.
What documents do you need?
The closing statement, the current depreciation schedule and the property address at minimum. Construction records, drawings, pay applications and change orders make the work more precise and often cheaper.
I bought this several years ago. Is it too late?
No. As long as you still own it and placed it in service after 1986, a look-back study captures every missed deduction and brings it forward on the current return via Form 3115. No amended returns.
Related
Other property types
The study is one piece. We can handle the rest of the return.
Deprecio is part of the Shurek Accounting & Tax family of brands. If you want the study and the tax work under one roof — the return, the Form 3115, entity structure, quarterly estimates, multi-state filings — that is a single engagement, not a hand-off between two firms.
No-cost feasibility review
Find out what your building is hiding.
A feasibility review is free and takes about twenty minutes. Bring the closing statement and the depreciation schedule; we will tell you plainly whether a study pays for itself.