How a Cost Seg Smart study is built — under 1 hour, end to end.
Same RSMeans 2024 cost basis. Same MACRS framework. Same IRS Audit Techniques Guide methodology a traditional firm uses. The difference is workflow — automation handles the steps that don't change the answer, and an engineer reviews the ones that do.
Property characteristics flow in via the order form: address, purchase price, year built, square footage, property type, and any rehab or improvement basis. That's the full input surface.
The engine pulls county assessor records, RentCast property data, OpenStreetMap building type and landuse, and satellite imagery. Cross-verifies square footage, year built, and finish quality before any cost work begins.
RSMeans 2024 cost library is filtered to your property type's component mix — foundation, framing, roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, finishes, FF&E, site work, landscaping. Geo cost multipliers, quality tier, age, and PPI adjustments applied.
Each component is classified to its IRS recovery period — 5-year personal property, 15-year land improvements, 27.5-year residential structure, or 39-year commercial — per the IRS Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide.
16-check QC validator runs every study: invariant checks, market regime sanity, calibration outliers, input quality, narrative safety. Result: PASS (ships immediately), REVIEW (engineer reviews flags), or FAIL (blocks ship).
ReportLab renders a 40+ page CPA-ready PDF: executive summary with MACRS pie chart, full component schedule, year-by-year depreciation tables, land valuation methodology, Form 3115 readiness for prior-year lookback. Emailed in under one hour.
Same RSMeans 2024 cost basis. Same MACRS framework. Same IRS Audit Techniques Guide methodology. Different delivery model.
What's not in our process — and why that's fine.
We don't visit your property. The IRS doesn't require it for a defensible study on residential or small-commercial. We use county assessor records, satellite imagery, OpenStreetMap, and standardized cost data — the same inputs an on-site engineer would use.
What an on-site visit adds for complex commercial — bespoke component identification, custom measurements, owner interviews — doesn't change the answer for a typical $400K SFR or $2M small office. What it does change is the price tag, by 5–10×.
For complex commercial above $5M, atypical property mixes, or multi-parcel deals, we refer to traditional engineering firms. We're not the right tool for every job, and we say so.
23 real sample PDFs across STR, SFR, multifamily, office, retail, and industrial. None are templates.
What CPAs and investors ask.
How do you produce an engineered study without a site visit? +
An engineering-based cost segregation study is an analysis of building components and their depreciation lives — not a physical inspection. The IRS Audit Techniques Guide does not require an on-site visit; it requires that components be classified using engineering principles and a defensible cost basis. We use county assessor records, RentCast property data, OpenStreetMap, and satellite imagery to characterize the property, and the RSMeans 2024 cost library to value its components. The same inputs an on-site engineer would record on a clipboard.
What if my property is unusual? +
Our QC gate flags unusual properties — distressed pricing, atypical mix, very large multifamily, complex commercial — and routes them to engineer review before anything ships. If a property is a poor fit for our automated workflow (e.g., a $25M mixed-use complex with multiple parcels), we'll tell you up front and refer you to a traditional engineering firm. We don't ship studies we can't stand behind.
Does the IRS accept your reports? +
Cost segregation is a recognized tax strategy under IRS Revenue Procedure 87-56 and the Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide. Our reports follow the same MACRS framework, the same component-level detail, and the same documentation standards as any engineered study. The deliverable includes the methodology section, data sources, component schedule, and engineer attestation that a CPA needs to file Form 3115 (for prior-year lookback) or report current-year depreciation.
What happens if my study gets audited? +
We provide audit support documentation in the report itself — methodology, data sources used, component classifications with their IRS basis. If the IRS questions the study, your CPA forwards the audit notice to us and we provide written responses to the examiner's questions at no additional charge. We have not had a study fail an IRS examination on the methodology to date.