When you order a cost segregation study from RentalWriteOff, here's exactly what happens between the moment you hit "submit" and the moment your report lands in your inbox 2 business days later. No black box, no marketing language — just the actual workflow.
Step 1: Intake (your part — about 5 minutes)
You submit your property through our intake form. The information you provide:
- Property address — We use this to pull public records (county assessor data, tax bills) and satellite imagery.
- Purchase price and closing date — This establishes your cost basis and placed-in-service date, which determines which bonus depreciation rules apply.
- Land value — If you don't know it, we can help estimate it from the tax bill, appraisal, or comparable sales.
- Interior and exterior photos — Photos are the single most impactful input. The more coverage, the better our engineers can classify higher-value short-life assets.
- Renovation notes or invoices, if any — Recent renovations often create meaningful reclassification opportunities that don't show up in public records.
That's everything we need from you. You don't have to understand MACRS recovery periods or know what belongs in 5-year property vs. 15-year property. The engineering team handles that.
Step 2: Engineering analysis
This is where the actual cost segregation work happens. Our team:
- Verifies basis and land allocation. We cross-check your inputs against public records and flag anything that looks off. If your land value is clearly too high (a common issue that leaves depreciation on the table), we'll note it.
- Reviews photos and satellite imagery. Every photo you submit is reviewed. We identify flooring, cabinetry, appliances, fixtures, finishes, HVAC systems, site improvements, landscaping, and exterior features. Satellite imagery covers what's outside the building.
- Classifies components into MACRS recovery periods. Every identified asset is mapped to the correct category — 5-year property, 7-year property, 15-year property, or 27.5-year property — using IRS guidelines and our standardized residential methodology.
- Calculates cost basis allocations. Using the Residual Estimation Method, we allocate your building basis across the recovery period buckets. The calculation produces property-specific allocations rather than ZIP-code averages.
- Runs bonus depreciation analysis. We determine how bonus depreciation applies to your short-life components based on the acquisition and placed-in-service dates.
Step 3: Report assembly
Once the analysis is complete, the findings get assembled into a full IRS-compliant report. Every report includes:
- Executive summary — High-level findings, first-year depreciation impact, and estimated tax savings.
- Reclassified asset schedules — Every classified component with its recovery period and cost basis allocation.
- Depreciation schedule — Year-by-year depreciation forecast across the recovery periods.
- Photo documentation — The photos that support each major classification, annotated with context.
- Methodology notes — How we got from your property to the final numbers. This is the part that matters in an audit.
- Form 4562 / Form 3115 supporting detail — The specific line-item detail your CPA or tax software needs to apply the study to your return (or prepare a Form 3115 for a look-back). RentalWriteOff does not file Form 3115 — we provide the data that makes it easy for your tax professional to do so.
Step 4: Final quality review
Before the report goes to you, it goes through a final review. A second engineer checks:
- That classifications match IRS guidelines for residential rentals
- That cost basis allocations are reasonable relative to the property type, condition, and furnishing
- That the bonus depreciation treatment lines up with the acquisition date
- That the documentation package is complete and internally consistent
Nothing ships without this check. It's the step that keeps the turnaround at 2 business days without cutting corners on quality.
Step 5: Delivery
The finished report arrives in your inbox as a PDF, typically on Day 2 or 3 after submission. You forward it to your CPA or tax preparer, and they apply the classifications to your return on Form 4562 (or prepare Form 3115 for a look-back). The report is self-explanatory enough that most CPAs can work from it directly without needing to contact us.
If questions come up during tax prep, we're available. And if the return is ever audited, the audit support is included — we respond to inquiries from the IRS or state taxing authority about the study's methodology and documentation at no additional cost.
What's NOT in the process (and why)
A few things you might expect but won't see:
- Site visit. We don't do them. Photos, public records, and satellite imagery cover what a walkthrough would, and skipping the site visit is the main reason we can deliver in 2 business days at a flat fee. On complex commercial properties, a site visit matters. On a residential rental, it doesn't add enough to justify the cost and delay.
- Hundreds of pages of filler. Traditional engineering reports can run 150+ pages. A lot of that is boilerplate. Our reports include everything that actually matters for classification, audit support, and tax preparation, without padding.
- Surprise fees. The flat fee is the flat fee. There's no upsell, no hourly tail, no additional charge for bonus depreciation analysis or look-back calculations.
Next steps
If you want to see what a study could mean for your specific property before committing, use the free cost segregation calculator. When you're ready, submit your property and you'll have a complete report in 2 business days.