A Cost Segregation Guide Built Without a Sales Agenda

Why We Built This Site

Search for almost any question about cost segregation and the results are dominated by one kind of source: firms whose entire business model depends on convincing you the strategy applies to your property, no matter what your actual numbers look like. Their content isn't necessarily wrong, but it's written from one side of the table, and it tends to skip over the parts that don't help close a sale, like recapture at sale, state tax non-conformity, or the properties where the study fee simply isn't worth paying.

We noticed the same pattern real estate owners keep describing in forums and reviews: it's genuinely hard to find a source that will tell you plainly when cost segregation is a bad fit, not just when it's a good one. What Is Cost Seg exists to close that gap. We explain how the strategy works, who it actually helps, and where it falls short, using plain language instead of sales language, and we back every claim with what's actually documented in tax law rather than a rounded-up estimate.

What We Do, and What We Don't

What Is Cost Seg is an educational resource. We do not perform cost segregation studies, we're not engineers, and we're not your CPA. What we do is research and explain the mechanics of cost segregation clearly enough that you can walk into a conversation with a provider or your own accountant already understanding the fundamentals, the vocabulary, and the questions worth asking.

When a reader's situation genuinely looks like a fit, meaning the property, the hold period, and the tax picture line up in a way where a study is likely to pay for itself, we connect them with one vetted cost segregation provider we've chosen to work with. We want to be upfront about that relationship rather than let it sit quietly in the background: if you engage that provider through this site, we may be compensated for the referral. That financial relationship does not change what we write on our educational pages. The benefits and risks we describe are the same whether or not you ever call the number on this page, and we'd rather lose a referral than soften an honest answer to win one. The full details of that relationship, including exactly how it works, are disclosed on our Terms & Disclosures page.

Who Writes and Reviews This

The guides here are written and edited by the What Is Cost Seg editorial team. We are not a cost segregation study provider, and no one on the editorial side is paid based on whether you order a study. Our job is to explain the topic accurately and in plain language, then point you toward a qualified provider only if the numbers suggest it's worth a closer look.

Every page carries a byline and two dates: when it was first published and when it was last reviewed. When tax law shifts, like the 2025 return of 100 percent bonus depreciation or an update to the IRS Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide, we revisit the affected pages, correct what changed, and move the review date forward so you can tell at a glance how current a page is. If you spot something on this site that looks out of date or wrong, tell us on the contact page and we'll check it.

The paid referral relationship that funds this site is disclosed in full on our terms and disclosures page. It does not change how the guides are written: the benefits and the risks get equal weight on every page.