Choose your type of cost seg

Normally a rental property depreciates as one big asset over 27.5 years (residential) or 39 years (commercial). A cost segregation study identifies the parts of your property that the tax code lets you depreciate much faster: things like carpet, appliances, window treatments, and dedicated electrical over 5 years, and parking, landscaping, fencing, and site work over 15 years. Faster depreciation means bigger deductions in your first years of ownership, when the cash matters most.

It depends on the property and on your tax bracket. In our illustrative examples, a $415K duplex comes out around $24,600 in estimated first year tax savings, and specialty properties can see more. The instant estimate runs your own numbers, and we always show a Conservative, a Middle of the Road and an Aggressive scenario rather than one inflated number. Results depend on your specific tax situation, so consult your CPA.

Yes. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (signed July 4, 2025) restored 100% bonus depreciation for qualifying property that is both acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. Property acquired on or before that date stays on the old phase-down schedule (40% for 2025, 20% for 2026). Our engine checks your actual acquisition date, not just your closing date, so your estimate reflects the rule that genuinely applies to you.

The process is intentionally simple: your closing or settlement statement, any inspection or valuation report you have (optional), and interior and exterior photos of the property. For condos we also ask for the CC&Rs. Upload everything right in the wizard. Most projects are completed within approximately 5 to 7 business days.

Not at all. Prior-year acquisitions are welcome. IRS procedures generally let you catch up the depreciation you could have taken through a Form 3115 automatic method change filed with your next return, instead of amending prior returns, and the catch-up is generally deducted in full in the year of the change. If you bought last year and have not filed that return yet, the study simply goes on it. Your CPA confirms the route and files the form; our study gives them the numbers.

No. Cost segregation works on property you already own, with no exchange and no identification or closing clocks. On a taxable purchase, the full price less the land is fresh depreciable basis (land is never depreciated), and property you have held for years can generally catch up missed accelerated depreciation in one return through an automatic Form 3115 method change your CPA files. A 1031 can still pair with cost seg in specific situations, but it is never a prerequisite. Read the full explainer →

Instead of estimating percentages on a whole building, a renovation study classifies your actual renovation invoices bottom-up: which costs must be capitalized versus deducted currently (capitalize-vs-expense), which recovery class each capitalized item belongs in, and whether removed components qualify for a current-year partial-disposition review. Renovation studies are Extended / Custom. Tell us about your project and we quote your fee fast. Start a renovation study →

Send everything you have, the closing statement, invoices, pay applications, drawings and photographs, and we read it, tell you which study fits your property and why, and guide you through the rest with the answers already filled in from what the documents state. The price follows what we find: the flat fee where it applies, a personalized quote first otherwise. Start the Complete Study →

The three positions describe the building only. Land is carved out first and never depreciates, so the less of the price assigned to land, the more there is to depreciate: a low land value is the aggressive land position and a high land value is the conservative one. We sanity check the value you enter (a warning below 5% or above 50% of the price), every study also shows the result at a higher and a lower land value, and the method used is disclosed.

A Real Estate Tax Saving Agent is a member of our private program who brings cost segregation to the property owners they already serve. Agents start studies for their clients, our team builds and reviews every study, and the client receives it in their own dashboard. There is no fee to join, and we provide the training and a program certificate. Real Estate Tax Saving Agent is the title of a private SmartCostSeg referral program. It is not a real estate license and not a tax or IRS credential, and a Real Estate Tax Saving Agent is not an employee or legal agent of SmartCostSeg. Learn about the agent program →

No. This is a private program: we set the requirements, we provide the training, and we issue a program certificate once you complete our training and our team reviews it. The certificate records that you completed the program and is not a license or a professional credential. Join the agent waiting list →

The agent starts the study, gathers the property facts and documents, and submits it for review. Our team builds and reviews every study before it is delivered, so the agent never carries the technical work. The client follows along in their own SmartCostSeg dashboard, from the agreement to the finished study. See how the program works →

Cost segregation is an established method that the IRS itself describes in its Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide. Every SmartCostSeg study is structured around the characteristics of a quality study that the Audit Techniques Guide describes, states its method plainly (including when the asset schedule is modeled rather than taken off on site), documents how each number was reached, and carries its authorities and an audit risk section. That documentation is exactly what your CPA wants in the file if a question ever comes, and you can read a full sample study before you start. Read a sample study →

Your accountant is exactly who this study is for. Preparing the return and studying the building are different jobs: a cost segregation study analyzes the property itself and produces the asset by asset detail your accountant works from, and depreciation schedules by year are available on request. We work alongside your CPA, never around them. See how it works →

Traditional engagements price in site visits, sales meetings, proposals, travel and overhead. Our software carries the heavy lifting and our professional team reviews every study before it is delivered, so the analysis is the only thing you pay for. The fee comes with your study when it is ready to view; no payment is requested before then. How each service is priced →

Generally, yes. A short term rental is depreciable rental property, and a cost segregation study identifies its furniture, appliances, finishes and site work for the shorter 5 and 15 year lives. Two rules shape the result, and your CPA applies both to your facts: how short your guest stays run can decide whether the building itself is treated as 27.5 year residential or 39 year nonresidential property, and the passive activity rules decide how the deductions can be used on your return. The wizard asks for your average stay so your estimate reflects it, and every estimate is a range, not a guarantee. See the property types we serve →

It is a passive activity rule under section 469 of the tax code, separate from the question of the building's depreciation life. Under the Treasury regulations, a rental whose average guest stay is 7 days or less is not treated as a rental activity, and if the owner also materially participates (for example, more than 500 hours in the year, or one of the other tests in the regulations), losses from that property may be treated as nonpassive. Whether it applies depends on your stays, your hours and your records, so your CPA makes that call. Our study supplies the depreciation figures your CPA works from, and it is not a promise that losses will reduce your wages or other income.