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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 built on the IRS's detailed engineering approach breaks your building into parts and finds everything that should have been on a faster depreciation schedule from day one.

  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.

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

Built in, not an add-on

The Form 3115 package comes with the study.

When a catch-up applies, every study we deliver includes the catch-up math and the prepared Form 3115, ready for your tax preparer to file with your return. Your preparer files it; we do the heavy lifting. The timing rules for Form 3115 are specific, so confirm the filing plan with your tax advisor.

See how a study gets built

Find out what you missed.

Enter your property and see your savings range in seconds, including the catch-up. No call required to see a number.

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