Accelerate depreciation on your real estate to unlock major tax savings and free up cash—often tens of thousands of dollars in the first year.
A cost segregation study is an engineering-based analysis that breaks a building into its components and reclassifies many of them into shorter tax depreciation lives—5, 7, or 15 years instead of the standard 27.5 years (residential) or 39 years (commercial). The result is dramatically accelerated depreciation, which front-loads your deductions, lowers your current tax bill, and frees up cash.
For real estate investors and property owners, it is one of the most powerful tax strategies available. Side By Side Financial helps owners of commercial buildings, rental properties, and newly purchased or renovated real estate capture these savings—often tens of thousands of dollars in the first year.
A detailed analysis that identifies and reclassifies building components into shorter depreciation lives, documented to stand up to IRS scrutiny.
Deductions front-loaded into the early years of ownership instead of spread thinly across decades.
We combine the study with available bonus depreciation to maximize your first-year write-off.
A no-cost look at your property to estimate the tax savings before you commit.
Already own the property? A catch-up study can capture missed depreciation without amending prior returns.
We integrate the study into your tax return so the savings actually land on your bottom line.
A commercial or rental building is normally depreciated over 27.5 or 39 years. But much of a property is not really "the building"—it is carpeting, fixtures, specialized electrical and plumbing, landscaping, and site improvements that wear out far faster. A cost segregation study uses engineering and tax expertise to identify those components and reclassify them into 5-, 7-, and 15-year categories.
Moving that value into shorter lives means you deduct it much sooner. Instead of a small deduction every year for decades, you get large deductions now—when the cash is most valuable.
It depends on the property, but studies commonly reclassify 20%-40% of a building's value into shorter-life categories. On a property worth several hundred thousand dollars or more, that can translate into tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in accelerated deductions—and a significantly lower tax bill in the first year of ownership.
Cost segregation delivers the most value for:
Even properties bought in prior years can benefit through a look-back study. The best way to know is a quick, free feasibility review.
The fee depends on the size and complexity of the property, but for most investors it is a small fraction of the tax savings it produces—which is why it so often pays for itself many times over in the first year alone. We start with a free feasibility review that estimates your savings before you spend a dollar, so you see the return before you commit.
Cost segregation is especially powerful for owners of commercial buildings, rental and multifamily properties, and recently purchased or renovated real estate.
We don't just do your books—we become a strategic part of your team. Our clients get enterprise-level financial expertise at a fraction of the cost of an in-house finance department.
See how much a cost segregation study could save you—starting with a free feasibility review.