ChargeableArea
Calculator

What does a desk actually cost per year?

Enter your floor area, desk count and annual cost lines. You get the fully loaded cost per desk, per person and per unit of area, and your density against the BCO planning standard. Nothing is stored and there is no sign-up.

Area basisNet internal (NIA)
StandardIPMS · RICS CoMP
Cost basisFully loaded, gross of VAT
RegionUnited Kingdom
Rates checked13 Aug 2026
Inputs

Switching converts your area and rates so the same building stays the same building.

sq ft
desks
people
£
£
£
£
£
Fully loaded cost per desk
PER YEAR
£15,133
per desk provided
£10,810
per person
£113.50
per sq ft
1.40 : 1
people per desk

How this is worked out

Cost per desk is the total annual occupancy cost divided by the desks provided. Total cost is the sum of the lines you entered, applied to the net internal area.

Cost per person divides by headcount instead, so it falls as desk sharing rises. Both are shown because they answer different questions: cost per desk measures the property, cost per person measures the working pattern.

Area basis matters. These figures assume net internal area, excluding common parts. If your area figure is a rentable or gross figure that already includes a share of common area, the cost per unit will be understated. Hong Kong and Singapore quote on bases that already include it — see benchmarks.

Switching unit converts, it does not reinterpret. Changing between sq ft and m² rewrites both the area and the per-unit rates at 1 sq ft = 0.092903 m², so the total cost and the cost per desk stay the same. Rates are rounded to two decimals, which can move the total by a few pounds.

What this does not do. It does not allocate cost between departments. Splitting common areas across business units needs a gross-up model, not a calculator.

BCOGuide to Specification 2024; utilisation research 2025
RICSIPMS: All Buildings / Code of Measuring Practice
HSEWorkplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992

Need to charge this back to departments?

The Office Occupancy Cost Allocation Model spreads the same cost lines across departments and finance cost codes, with two-tier gross-up, vacancy handling and an exception check that reconciles to your cost base before you send it.

See the model — £79