Industry Focus
Cost Segregation for Real Estate Investors & Developers
Introduction
If you own, build, or renovate real estate, your buildings can do more for your cash flow than the standard depreciation schedule allows. Cost segregation is the tax strategy that gets you there. It speeds up the depreciation you deduct in the early years of ownership, so more cash is working for you sooner, whether you put it into your next property or your next project.
Firestone helps investors, developers, and business owners who own their buildings put real numbers to that opportunity. We start with a free estimate, so you know what's on the table before you commit to anything.
Why Real Estate Investors and Developers Benefit
Real estate rewards owners who keep their capital moving. A cost segregation study moves deductions forward in time, and that changes what you can do next:
Cash years earlier. Instead of waiting decades for standard depreciation to play out, you access a meaningful share of that value up front.
Capital for your next deal. That cash can be the difference between financing the next property with more debt and moving ahead with money already in hand.
Speed on new opportunities. With capital available, you can act when a deal comes up instead of watching other investors move first.
One project, years of benefit. Most properties only need a study once.
Numbers that hold up. Every study comes with CPA-led technical rigor, so your position is defensible if anyone ever asks.
What Property Owners Ask Before They Start
Many owners assume cost segregation is too expensive, too complicated, or only for big institutional portfolios. Those are fair concerns, so here are the short answers.
Is it worth the cost? You find out before you commit. Our free estimate leads to a proposal with your estimated savings and a fee quote, so you can weigh one against the other.
Is it too complicated? Not for you. We do the technical work. You provide building information and, in many cases, we visit the property.
Is it only for big portfolios? No. A single property can be a fit. See the guidelines below.
Properties We Work With
Cost segregation fits most commercial and income-producing residential real estate. That includes:
Apartments
Office buildings
Restaurants
Industrial properties
Manufacturing facilities
Other commercial buildings
It works for individual investors with a portfolio, developers who build or renovate, and business owners who own the building their company operates from.
How It Works for Property Owners
A cost segregation study reclassifies parts of your building onto faster depreciation schedules, typically moving 20% to 35% of its total value. It works on property you just bought or built, and on property you've owned for years. See how a cost segregation study works →
Is a Study Right for Your Property?
We'd rather tell you up front. A study is generally a good fit when you:
Have spent roughly $1M or more on the property
Are profitable and owe income tax
Plan to hold the property for at least 3 years
It's usually not a fit when:
The property's value is too low for the faster depreciation to make a meaningful difference
You aren't profitable or don't owe income tax, since there's no tax bill to offset
You plan to sell soon, because a shorter hold reduces the value of accelerating depreciation
You aren't able to allow a site visit or provide the detailed building information the analysis needs
Not sure which side you're on? That's what the free estimate is for.
Who We Help in Real Estate
Investors Building a Portfolio
You own income-producing property and plan to keep adding to it. A study can free up cash for the next purchase, and frequent investors often come back for a new study on each property every year or two.
Developers and Renovators
You've constructed or renovated commercial or investment property. A study applies to new construction and renovations, not only to buildings you buy.
Business Owners Who Own Their Building
Your company operates out of a building you own. A study turns that building into a source of cash flow for your business.
Owners of Older Properties
You bought or built years ago and never had a study done. It's not too late, because studies can be performed on property you've held for years.
How Firestone Helps
It starts with a free estimate. You share basic information about the building and your tax situation, and we send back an estimated savings figure and a fee quote.
View the full step-by-step process →
Why Property Owners Choose Firestone
CPA-led rigor. The same technical standard, engineering-based analysis, and documentation we apply to R&D credits goes into every cost segregation study.
Ready if questioned. Full documentation support, in case your study is ever reviewed.
One experienced team. The same people take you from the first estimate to final delivery.
Boots on the ground. We visit the property when it improves the analysis.
Your CPA stays in the picture. We work with your CPA, not around them.
Working with your CPA
A cost segregation study takes specialized technical analysis that most CPA firms don't do in-house. Firestone does that analysis and works alongside your CPA, who stays your trusted advisor. We don't provide tax preparation, assurance, or accounting services, so there's never any overlap with your CPA's work.
Zach Boyd, CPA and founder of Boyd CPA, has partnered with Firestone since 2017. When one of his commercial real estate clients needed a cost segregation study, he brought us in. The study produced a $280,000 deduction and an estimated $60,000 in tax savings. "Rance has never once tried to pull a client away from my practice," Zach says.
Learn About Our CPA Partnership Program →
-
Generally, yes. Most properties need a study once. Investors who keep buying often return for new properties every year or two.
-
Yes. Studies can be done on properties purchased or built years in the past, not just new acquisitions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Keep Exploring
Cost Segregation: how studies work, the full process, and FAQs →
Other industries: Manufacturers and Software and Technology Companies