THE FIRM

Engineered commercial cost segregation.

Commercial Cost Seg is the commercial real estate practice of Cost Seg Smart Inc. The firm performs engineered cost segregation studies for office, retail, restaurant, medical office, industrial, hospitality, self-storage, and multifamily properties across the United States.

HOW STUDIES ARE PRODUCED

Engineering methodology, automated. Photographically documented.

Same engineering methodology, automated execution

RSMeans 2024 component pricing, BLS PPI time index, IRC § 168 MACRS classification, Pub. 5653 audit-defense documentation — the same framework boutique engineering firms charge $15K–$30K to execute by hand. The Cost Seg Smart engine applies it deterministically, producing the same 30+ page IRS-defensible report in days instead of weeks.

On-site photographic survey on every $3M+ commercial study

A trained photographer visits the property with a property-type-specific shooting brief — kitchen exhaust hoods for restaurants, medical-gas outlets for medical office, dock detail and mechanical room for industrial. Photographs become part of the component-classification documentation per Pub. 5653 Chapter 4. Sub-$3M commercial uses owner-uploaded photos following the same checklist.

16-check QC validation before release

Every analysis runs through 16 quality-control checks before the report ships — reclassification-ratio bounds, land-allocation reliability, component-cost variance, reconciliation integrity, era-profile consistency, and property-type-specific checks. PASS proceeds to delivery; REVIEW pauses for human review; FAIL blocks release.

Audit defense included for the life of the study

If the IRS examines the property's depreciation in the years after the study ships, the engineering team supports the position at no additional cost. Documentation is structured so the 30+ page report is the defense package — it contains everything the examining agent will request, including the photographic component record.

What we believe.

Cost segregation is engineering. The classification of a building's components — what's 5-year personal property under § 1245, what's 15-year land improvement, what's 39-year structural under § 1250 — follows engineering rules that have been stable since the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Those rules can be executed by hand at $15K–$30K per property, or by a software engine at a fraction of that cost. The output is the same engineered classification either way; what changes is the operational cost.

At $3M+ commercial basis, the photographic record matters enough that we send a trained photographer. A photo of a mechanical room — the dedicated vs. structural HVAC, the tenant electrical vs. base building service — is the difference between a defensible 5-year classification and one that gets recaptured at audit. Below $3M, owner-uploaded photos following the same shooting checklist do the job at a price that keeps the study ROI-positive.

Every reclass entry traces to a documented asset. Every classification cites the Treasury Regulation, the Revenue Procedure, or the judicial authority that supports it. The 30+ page report we deliver is a defense package — it's what a CPA hands to an examining IRS agent and gets unanimous agreement on the classification.

We charge per property, at the published rate for the property type and basis. The fee is locked at order time. There are no surprises, no upcharges, no "premium tier" that exists to deliver what should have been in the base study.

FOR CPAs

White-label partnership.

Most of our work flows through CPA partners. The study is performed by our engineering team and delivered under your firm's brand. You retain the client relationship, the engagement letter, and the deliverable presentation. We deliver the engineered substance.

Branded deliverable — the 30+ page report is produced under your firm name with your color and logo on every page.
Referral attribution — every client coming through your channel is tracked. You receive the partner margin on each engagement.
Audit defense included — for the life of the study. We support the position if the IRS examines it, at no additional cost to the client or to your firm.
Form 3115 prepared — when the study captures Section 481(a) catch-up depreciation, we prepare Form 3115 ready for your filing.

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PARENT ORGANIZATION

A practice of Cost Seg Smart LLC

Commercial Cost Seg is the commercial real estate practice of Cost Seg Smart LLC (costsegsmart.com). Residential and small-format properties are served via the costsegsmart.com flagship; commercial properties are served via this practice with property-specific engineering methodology.

Nothing on this page is tax, legal, or financial advice. Benchmark percentages and worked examples are illustrative — consult a qualified CPA, tax attorney, or Enrolled Agent before acting on cost segregation outputs for a specific property. Cost Seg Smart LLC is not a CPA firm and does not provide individualized tax advice.