Qualification check · Free · 30 seconds
Does your property qualify for cost segregation?
Answer 6 questions. Get an honest verdict and an estimated reclassification range in 30 seconds — no email, no call.
- ▸Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is collected or stored
- ▸A real answer first: verdict, range, and the factors behind it
- ▸Honest math — including when the numbers are thin
Your result
The verdict
Run the check above and your property-specific verdict appears here — qualification call, estimated reclassification range, and the modeled year-1 figure.
[ awaiting your 6 answers ]
Answer the questions above and we’ll show the honest math for your property — not a generic pitch.
Transparency
What the verdict checks
Five levers decide whether cost segregation is worth it for a specific property. The same five drive your verdict — once you run the check, this table fills in with your numbers.
The 90-second version
How cost segregation works
By default, the tax code depreciates your entire building over 27.5 or 39 years — as if the carpet lasts as long as the foundation. Cost segregation corrects that.
An engineering study itemizes the property
A component-by-component analysis identifies everything that isn’t structural building: flooring, cabinetry, appliances, dedicated electrical, paving, fencing, landscaping.
Components move to 5, 7, and 15-year lives
Those components are reclassified out of the 27.5/39-year bucket into the shorter recovery periods the tax code actually assigns them — typically 15–32% of depreciable basis.
Bonus depreciation front-loads the deduction
Short-life property is eligible for bonus depreciation, so much of that reclassified basis can be deducted in year one instead of trickling out over decades.
Methodology background: IRS Publication 946 (How to Depreciate Property) and the IRS Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide (Pub 5653).
Common doubts
Questions people actually ask
The honest answers, with the relevant guide when you want the long version.
Can I do cost segregation on a property I’ve owned for years?+
Yes. A lookback study uses a change in accounting method (Form 3115) with a §481(a) adjustment, which lets you take the missed accelerated depreciation as a catch-up deduction in the current year — no amended returns required.
Long version: Qualifying after years of ownership · see also catchupdepreciation.com.
Is it worth it for a property under $500k?+
Often, yes — but it’s a math question, not a slogan. What matters is depreciable basis, your bracket, the bonus rate for your placed-in-service year, and whether §469 lets you use the losses. A $350k rental with an active owner in a 32% bracket usually clears the bar comfortably; the same building with trapped passive losses is a closer call. The qualifier above runs exactly this math.
Long version: When cost segregation is — and isn’t — worth it.
Will it trigger an audit?+
A study doesn’t inherently flag a return. Cost segregation is an established practice the IRS itself documents — its Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide describes what a quality study looks like. What matters is engineering-based documentation that follows that methodology, so the numbers hold up if anyone ever asks.
Do I need to amend past returns?+
No. Missed depreciation from prior years is claimed through Form 3115 (change in accounting method) with the catch-up taken in the current year’s return.
Do short-term rentals qualify differently than long-term rentals?+
The study works the same; the loss rules don’t. An STR with an average stay of 7 days or less where you materially participate is generally not a passive rental activity under §469 — so accelerated losses can offset W-2 or business income without real-estate-professional status. Long-term rentals usually need REPS or passive income to absorb the losses.
Long version: Passive-loss rules, REPS, and the STR path.
What actually gets reclassified?+
Anything that isn’t structural building: carpet and certain flooring, cabinetry, appliances, decorative lighting, dedicated electrical and plumbing, and land improvements like paving, fencing, and landscaping. These move from 27.5/39-year recovery into 5-, 7-, and 15-year lives.
Long version: What reclassifies, by property type.
Qualified? Get the real number.
A detailed estimate takes your actual property details and returns the full year-by-year schedule — before you commit to anything.