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Lookback study

Bought years ago? Your deductions are still there.

A lookback study finds all the depreciation you missed since you bought the property, and claims it in one catch-up on this year's return. No amended returns. No redoing old years.

See your savings range in seconds How the catch-up works

How it works

One study. One catch-up. This year's return.

  1. 1

    We study the property now

    A cost segregation study breaks your building into parts and finds what should have been on a faster depreciation schedule from day one. The report names the method.

  2. 2

    We add up what you missed

    We compare what you actually deducted each year to what you could have deducted with the study in place. The difference is your catch-up amount. The IRS calls it a Section 481(a) adjustment.

  3. 3

    You claim it all on this year's return

    We prepare the Form 3115 package and hand it to your tax preparer. The whole catch-up lands as a deduction on your current return. One filing, not many. The package is a separate service: $750 for the standard case (one property, the IRS automatic change, the standard filing that fixes missed depreciation). Anything else, we quote first.

No amended returns

You do not redo old tax years.

This is the part owners love. Form 3115 is the IRS's own form for a change in accounting method, and this change is on the IRS list of automatic changes. You file it with this year's return, and the catch-up comes with it. Amended returns usually reach back only three years. The catch-up can pull in missed depreciation from further back than that.

  • A lookback study fits when:
  • You have owned the property for a year or more
  • It is a rental or commercial building you depreciate
  • You never had a cost segregation study done on it
  • This includes property from a 1031 exchange, an inheritance, or a gift

A separate service, $750 for the standard case

We prepare the Form 3115 package for you.

When a catch-up applies, we do the catch-up math and prepare the Form 3115, ready for your tax preparer to file with your return. Your preparer files it; we do the heavy lifting. It is a separate service from the study. $750 for the standard case (one property, the IRS automatic change, the standard filing that fixes missed depreciation). Anything else, we quote first. Nothing shows up on your bill that you did not agree to. The timing rules for Form 3115 are specific, so confirm the filing plan with your tax advisor.

See how a study gets built

Keep exploring

More on catching up

The rules behind the catch-up, sibling property types, and a real report.

Guides What makes a study audit-defensible? The IRS publishes a checklist for a cost segregation study. See the checklist, and which parts a report follows. Open Guides Bonus depreciation and the OBBBA law Why 100% bonus depreciation is back for good, the dates that decide your rate, and how a study unlocks it. Open By property type Multifamily and apartments From a duplex to 50 units: unit appliances and flooring, dedicated hookups, parking, and the evidence lesson from the AmeriSouth case. Open By property type Self-storage facilities Storage runs on its site: paving, fencing, gates, lighting, and signage. Plus the honest answer on unit partitions. Open Tools Sample report See a full study report before you buy one: the schedules, the photos, and the Appendix A authorities. Open

Find out what you missed.

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