Most cost segregation studies fall between roughly $2,300 and $10,000. Where your property lands depends on its size, type, and complexity — a single-family short-term rental sits near the bottom, a large mixed-use or commercial building near the top. But with cost seg, the fee is genuinely the wrong number to focus on. The number that matters is what the study puts back in your pocket, and it's almost always a large multiple of what the study costs.
Here's what drives the price, and — more importantly — how to know whether a study is worth doing at all for your property.
What moves the price
Property size and basis. A larger, more expensive building has more components to identify, measure, and reclassify, so the study takes more engineering work. A $400,000 rental and a $4 million commercial property are different amounts of analysis.
Property type and complexity. A straightforward single-family rental is simpler than a furnished short-term rental with extensive fixtures, which is simpler than a mixed-use property with residential and commercial portions on different depreciation schedules. The more moving parts, the more the study costs — and the more it typically saves.
New purchase versus look-back. A study on a property you just bought is cleaner than a "look-back" study on one you've owned for years. The look-back captures depreciation you already missed through a Form 3115 catch-up — more valuable, sometimes slightly more involved.
Documentation. Closing statements, blueprints, an appraisal, photos — the more you can provide, the more efficient the study. We'll tell you exactly what helps.
The fee is not the number that matters
Here's what makes cost seg different from most professional services: the study routinely pays for itself several times over in the first year alone. A study that costs a few thousand dollars commonly produces tens of thousands in additional first-year deductions, which at a high earner's tax rate is tens of thousands in real tax savings. The question is almost never "can I afford the study" — it's "does my property qualify for enough to make it worthwhile."
That's why we won't take your money if the numbers don't work. If your property is too small, or you're planning to sell within a year or two, or the depreciation recapture at your expected hold period would eat the benefit, we'll tell you before you pay anything. A study that doesn't pencil isn't a sale we want. See how recapture affects the math if you're weighing a shorter hold.
How to know if it's worth it for you
As a rough rule, a study tends to make sense when the property's depreciable basis is above about $200,000, you'll hold it more than a couple of years, and you have enough income for the deductions to offset. Short-term rental owners who materially participate get an especially strong result, because the losses can offset active income — see the short-term rental strategy. But rules of thumb only go so far.
Get a real estimate before you decide
Before you commit a dollar, we'll run a free preliminary estimate on your actual property — what a study would likely reclassify, roughly what you'd save in year one, and a firm quote for the study itself. If it's worth doing, you'll see it in the numbers. If it isn't, you'll know that too. Book a free consultation, or read more about our cost segregation studies.