Is a "Real Estate" CPA Necessary

[Sean Johnson]

I bought a small handful of SFH rental properties in 2019 and I am wondering if I should stick with my normal CPA or look around for one who "specializes" in real estate? I'm confident my current CPA understands the basics of owning property but have you guys found there are CPAs out there that have a deeper knowledge of rental properties and therefore help significantly when it come time to file your return?

[Linda Weygant]

CPAs are like doctors and lawyers - we just don't advertise that way.

The same way you wouldn't go to a podiatrist for a headache and you wouldn't go to a divorce lawyer for your DUI, you should go to the right professional for what you're doing.

No one CPA can know all the niches of the the entire tax code.  You'll want one that knows all the niches of the particular area of the tax code you'll be playing in.  Here are a couple of areas that tax professionals can and do specialize in:

Ministry
Not For Profit
Military Service
Real Estate
US Expat issues
Resident and Nonresident Aliens in the US
Oil & Gas
Foreign and Overseas business
Day Traders
Small Business
Consolidated Businesses
Large/Multi National Business
Service Industries
Retail Industries
Manufucturing Industries
Research and Development 
Software Creation and Production

Each one of these has some very specialized and nuanced tax code that your tax professional should know inside and out.  For example, I specialize in half a dozen or so of the above topics, but if you were heavily invested in Oil & Gas, I'd refer you somewhere else as that is not my specialty.

A generalist may or may not know real estate well enough to help you out.  It's up to you whether or not your current professional is "good enough".