Thursday, March 15, 2007

Cost Segregation

39 years life for straight line depreciation on commercial property. That's a long stretch. Now please consider the use of itemized cost segregation. Where a specialized accounting firm allocates separate costs to each part of a building. Examples are roof, HVAC, asphalt, walls, electrical, tenant improvements, etc. The roof if it is a flat tar & gravel or similar will have approximately a 10 year depreciable life. Not much, if any of the building will last 39 years according to the specialists. Therefore, the investor gets much more tax sheltering sooner. There is a somewhat significant cost to set this up, figure $10,000 or more. Though, that's a write off and your benefits will offset the cost of the setup quickly.