Cost Segregation Basics Cost segregation is an alternate method of depreciation in which pieces of a property are classified into separate categories for tax purposes. Instead of applying a typical 39-year depreciation cycle on the entire property and its contents, Cost Segregation allows some asset classes to be depreciated faster, resulting in near-term tax savings.
The third piece of Cost Seg is Legal Analysis. Once Echo has the costs for all the items, it needs to evaluate each item under the current Cost Seg body of law. This process without a doubt is vital and quite complicated. Although it has evolved, there is conflict in the law, it’s a little dicey.
Echo has to leverage court cases against the facts and circumstances of your property, to determine which items can be reclassified from Section 1250 real property to Section 1245 personal property.
Then it applies what’s called the MACRS Asset Classification System accordingly. Then Echo can recompute depreciation based on each item’s life, method and convention, and calculate that catch-up depreciation, if available.
Ultimately, Echo will be able to complete the complicated tax Form 3115 – Change in Accounting Method to be included in the owner’s next tax return.
The second step in Cost Seg is Construction Cost Estimating (CCE). Echo is going to review the supporting documents you gather – and extract any pertinent project data. Echo then does quantity takeoffs from the drawings (if you have any) – and your pictures from the field.
In the CCE step – Echo’s construction cost analysis is going to use your submitted info to build up the cost to re-build the building submitted. If you built the building (or you have actual costs) Echo will use that data, but if you don’t, we’ll rely on our database of national construction cost data.
Echo has the construction experience to determine what it would cost to build that building today, as it sits when you did the OSV. This concept is called “Reconstruction Cost New”, or “RCN”. This is a very important legal concept. There are consultants out there that don’t do it right. They do not account for all the pieces and parts of the project. They only account for the items that they believe can be reclassified as personal property.
However, until you gain ALL of the pieces – including the total cost (RCN) – and then pro-rate all these costs so it adds up to what the investor actually paid for it – you don’t really know what the cost of the these personal property items actually is. So once Echo has the RCN – we will do the proration – so that everything ties out of the basis of the building that’s currently on the Fixed Asset Schedule.
Echo has to leverage court cases against the facts and circumstances of your property, to determine which items can be reclassified from Section 1250 real property to Section 1245 personal property.
Then it applies what’s called the MACRS Asset Classification System accordingly. Then Echo can recompute depreciation based on each item’s life, method and convention, and calculate that catch-up depreciation, if available.
Ultimately, Echo will be able to complete the complicated tax Form 3115 – Change in Accounting Method to be included in the owner’s next tax return.
In the CCE step – Echo’s construction cost analysis is going to use your submitted info to build up the cost to re-build the building submitted. If you built the building (or you have actual costs) Echo will use that data, but if you don’t, we’ll rely on our database of national construction cost data.
Echo has the construction experience to determine what it would cost to build that building today, as it sits when you did the OSV. This concept is called “Reconstruction Cost New”, or “RCN”. This is a very important legal concept. There are consultants out there that don’t do it right. They do not account for all the pieces and parts of the project. They only account for the items that they believe can be reclassified as personal property.
However, until you gain ALL of the pieces – including the total cost (RCN) – and then pro-rate all these costs so it adds up to what the investor actually paid for it – you don’t really know what the cost of the these personal property items actually is. So once Echo has the RCN – we will do the proration – so that everything ties out of the basis of the building that’s currently on the Fixed Asset Schedule.