FAQ's

Cost segregation benefits commercial property owners. It is a method of separating and distinguishing personal property from real property. By applying its principles, significant portions of building costs can be depreciated in as few as 5 years, instead of the standard 27.5 years for residential or 39 years for commercial property. 

Any property owner that has purchased, constructed, renovated, remodeled, restored, or expanded a commercial building since 1986. Also, if they have paid for facility leasehold improvements or planned for a future 1031 exchange, they would also qualify for cost segregation service.

• Increased cash flow,
• Large income tax deferrals
• Independent verification of depreciation schedules
• Audit protection and support from NCSS
• Catch-up depreciation
• Bonus depreciation
• Suite-by-suite breakdowns of building costs
• It is also an interest-free loan from the government which you pay back over time. This keeps your money in your pocket for a longer period of time, thus capitalizing on the time value of money.

Yes, but without expertise in construction and engineering, CPAs are left performing an invoice-based cost segregation effort. This method is usually limited to reviewing mountains of paperwork, including invoiced purchases and contractor invoice line items. There is little assurance that even a majority of qualifying assets will be identified - let alone reclassified.

National Cost Segregation Specialists' engineer-based studies apply the most accurate construction costing methods available. We utilize blue prints, plans and site inspections. Engineered studies are more comprehensive and offer greater audit protection by exceeding the rigorous documentation standards required by the IRS.

No.

After a study, you file for what's called an "Automatic Change in Accounting" (Form 3115). This filing is already pre-approved by the IRS. Because we adhere to all IRS publications, you can be confident in the increased protection our studies will provide. We include a form 3115 in all of our studies to ensure it is done correctly. 

We have done over 1,000 studies, and not one of our studies have triggered an IRS audit. We have clients that have been audited and therefore have had their cost segregation studies scrutinized, but all of our studies have come back as "no change". 

NCSS will prepare any and all position papers including the writing, submission and conference calling that may be required in support of any IRS inquiry at no charge to you.   

We have one time fees that are fixed and not a % of your savings. Generally, our clients experience a 5:1 to 50:1 return on their investment in just the first year alone! Keep in mind, that the fee is also tax deductable!

Our FREE estimates are customized to your specific situation and will show you all of your benefits and fees associated with your cost segregation study before you decide to move forward. This is very beneficial for property owners because NCSS takes the upfront risk and vested time to provide you with relevant information needed to make an educated decision.

Yes you will.

Consider, however, the benefit of having your money now and being able to invest it in additional properties, building improvements, etc. The value of your dollar will continue to go down, so keeping your money at its most valuable point allows you to capitalize on the time value of your dollar.

Think of it this way. If we gave you a check for 5 million dollars and gave you the choice of cashing it now, or cashing it 39 years from now, what would you do? Contrast this to letting the government have your money now and investing how they want. You WIN here everytime! Keeping the money in your pocket longer is like getting a huge loan from the government that you will pay back over time, INTEREST FREE!!

A cost segregation study is also beneficial should the commercial property owner pass away or if the building is going to be sold in the future.