For 1-4 unit residential property, a defensible study doesn't require a stranger walking through your rental. We use your closing statement, your photos, and a structured intake form to build an asset schedule that reconciles to your documented depreciable basis, and we review every file before it goes out the door.
Complete a structured online intake (about 15 minutes). Upload your closing statement, property photos, and improvement details. That's all we need.
Our team builds your asset schedule from a residential cost library, classified by recovery period and reconciled to your documented depreciable basis.
Every file passes through our tripwire QC system and is reviewed and signed off by a qualified licensed tax professional before a draft leaves the building.
You receive an audit-ready, ATG-aligned report, formatted for your CPA to implement. We're happy to coordinate directly with them.
Most cost segregation firms are built for commercial deals and charge accordingly. We're built for 1-4 unit residential and short-term rentals, the assets you actually own.
Single-family rentals, duplexes, triplexes, and quads. Our core practice, engineered for the price points and economics of residential investment property.
STR property (Airbnb, VRBO, and direct-booked) typically yields the highest reclassification ratios in residential. We model the furnishings, fixtures, and short-life assets that STR operators uniquely own.
Optional, flat-fee coverage if the IRS ever asks about your study: a written methodology memorandum, the substantiation package behind your numbers, and consultation with you and your preparer while the question is open.
For tax professionals who want a defensible residential cost segregation partner. We co-engage with your firm, deliver implementation-ready workpapers, and never poach your clients.
A directional estimate based on industry-typical reclassification ratios for residential property. Your actual results depend on your specific property, placed-in-service year, and bonus depreciation eligibility, and we'll sharpen the figure during a free feasibility review.
Depreciable basis assumed at 80% of acquisition price (land excluded). Reclassification ratios derived from typical residential studies by property type. First-year savings assume 100% bonus depreciation, restored for property acquired (contract signed) and placed in service after January 19, 2025. “Placed in service” means the date the property was ready and available to rent — listed or move-in ready — not necessarily the closing date. Not tax advice. Confirm with your CPA.
Representative scenarios using typical residential reclassification ratios at current bonus depreciation rules and a 32% marginal rate. Your actual numbers will vary. These are illustrative, not promises. 100% bonus assumes both the purchase contract and the in-service date fall after January 19, 2025.
22% reclassification · 32% rate · 100% bonus dep
25% reclassification · 32% rate · 100% bonus dep
32% reclassification · 32% rate · 100% bonus dep
We're not the cheapest place on the internet and we're not the boutique engineering firm. We're built for the residential investor who wants a real, defensible study at a price that makes sense for the property.
Our methodology is built from the tax professional's seat, which means CPAs don't have to translate our reports. They can implement them.
Every file passes a documented tripwire QC system (missing basis support, allocation ranges, evidence gaps, specialty asset claims), and a qualified licensed tax professional signs off before delivery. Designed for defensibility, not just speed.
We don't charge commercial-firm rates for a residential rental, and we don't pretend cheap automation is a real study. Your fee is a fixed, flat quote that reflects the work the property actually requires.
Refined was built by tax and real estate professionals who couldn't find a cost segregation firm designed for the way residential investors actually buy property. So we built one: a documentary, fixed-fee study, reviewed before it ever reaches your CPA.
Our studies are built from the tax professional's seat, by licensed tax pros and active real estate investors, so your CPA can implement the report without translating anything.
Every cost segregation report passes a documented QC system and is reviewed and signed off by a qualified licensed tax professional before it leaves Refined.
We work from your closing statement, photos, and a structured intake, with no stranger walking through your rental, and we serve residential investors across the country.
Don't see yours? We reply personally to every inquiry within one business day.
The IRS depreciates residential rental property over 27.5 years. A cost segregation study identifies the components (flooring, fixtures, appliances, specialty electrical, land improvements, and more) that legitimately qualify for shorter recovery periods of 5, 7, or 15 years. With 100% bonus depreciation back in effect for property acquired (contract signed) and placed in service after January 19, 2025, that reclassified portion is fully deductible in year one. For a typical 1-4 unit residential property, we reclassify 20-35% of the depreciable basis.
No. For 1-4 unit residential property, a site visit doesn't add defensibility, and it does add significant cost. Our methodology is documentary: we work from your closing statement, your photos, county records, and the structured intake we send you. This is consistent with the IRS Audit Technique Guide for residential property and is how most defensible residential studies are produced.
Pricing is a fixed fee that depends on the property, mainly the number of units and the purchase price, so we quote it per property rather than list it here. The fastest way to get your exact fee is to tell us about your property or book a quick call, and we’ll give you a firm, flat quote with no surprises. Over 12 units, 1031 exchanges, and carryover-basis situations are quoted individually. Optional Audit Support can be added when you order.
5–10 business days from a complete intake to a delivered report. If you're up against a filing deadline, tell us at intake, and we can usually accommodate.
Cost segregation is a long-established, well-documented IRS tax planning method backed by decades of case law and the IRS's own Audit Technique Guide. A properly documented study prepared to that guide's standards (which is the only way we prepare them) doesn't meaningfully raise your audit odds — and if a question ever comes up, the answer is documented in the report and workpapers.
It’s the date the property was ready and available for its intended use — not necessarily the day you closed. For a rental, that’s when it could take a tenant or guest: listed for rent, live on Airbnb or Zillow, or otherwise move-in ready and being marketed. If you bought an occupied rental it’s usually the closing date; if you renovated first, it’s the day the finished unit was available to rent. The date matters because it starts depreciation, sets bonus-depreciation eligibility, and determines which tax year the study’s deductions land in.
Always, and many of our clients come to us through CPA referrals. Your CPA prepares your return; we provide the engineering report, a per-asset fixed-asset schedule for their depreciation software, and an implementation summary tailored for their file. We never poach clients.
Because no one can guarantee an outcome with the IRS, and any firm that promises otherwise is bending the truth. "Audit-ready" means our deliverables are prepared to ATG standards, documented with workpapers, and quality-control reviewed, so if the question ever comes up, the answer is in the binder.
Plain-spoken essays on the tax law, the methodology, and the strategy of accelerated depreciation for residential property. Written by our team.
Federal bonus gives a full year-one write-off — but many states decouple and add it back. What state conformity does to your cost seg deduction, why the reclassification still helps, and a worked $500K example.
Read the essay →Rents like a short-term rental, taxed like a long-term one. A 30-plus-day average stay fails the seven-day test, so the loss is passive — what a study still delivers on a mid-term rental, with a worked $520K example.
Read the essay →You block off the beach condo two weeks a year and rent it the rest. Personal-use days decide whether a study creates a loss now or a carryforward — the Section 280A 14-day/10% rule, with a worked $600K example.
Read the essay →More from the journal
A short call with our team to walk you through what a study would look like for your property, and roughly what it should return. We'll give you a candid yes/no on whether it makes sense, and a fixed-fee quote if it does.
No obligation. We reply within one business day. Not tax advice.