Cost-Segregation and how to start with it

[Tatyana Baytler]

Hi, I am investing in rental homes in Maryland and for years my CPA has been doing straight line depreciation , but recently i paid off some mortgages and got few more rentals, now i have a lot of taxes to pay. I have heard about Benefits of Cost-Segregation and asked my CPA his answer was: "you would need to hire an engineer who would do a cost segregation analysis on the property".

Does CPA should know how to do it? Can someone refer me to another CPA who would know himself?

Thank you!

[Ashish Acharya]

Originally posted by @Tatyana Baytler:

Hi, I am investing in rental homes in Maryland and for years my CPA has been doing straight line depreciation , but recently i paid off some mortgages and got few more rentals, now i have a lot of taxes to pay. I have heard about Benefits of Cost-Segregation and asked my CPA his answer was: "you would need to hire an engineer who would do a cost segregation analysis on the property".

Does CPA should know how to do it? Can someone refer me to another CPA who would know himself?

Thank you!

 Yes there are specialized firm that do cost seg. 

In my opinion, your CPA should first do a high level analysis if you really need it or is it cost effective. 

How many rentals are we talking about ? 

In my opinion, the cost seg firm is required when the analysis needs to be done on the hospitals, warehouses, or huge multi family. 

If it’s a single family houses, keeping in mind the cost benefit analysis, CPA can do the seg. It has been done before and defended.

Talk to our friend @Yonah Weiss.