Call or contact Fred W Clapp for more information: fred@bamprojects.com / 703.298.0705

Services

"The primary goal for every business is staying in business. One of the best ways to do that is by maintaining cash flow."

For Building Owners, NNN Tenants, and Lessees

More = Less = More

More depreciation expenses and cost write offs Pay less taxes Keep more money!

Learn how with an estimate

Get a No Cost estimate

Jim Shreve, CEO, CSSI©

More Tax Savings - As a building owner, or a business that leases commercial real estate (CRE), that annual tax payment is one of your largest expenses. CSSI© is in the business of using the tax code to off-set how much you have to pay. We do that by offering a service that is a tax code recommended option called accelerated depreciation. Technically called cost segregation, CSSI© "segregates" your building's componet "cost" in order to meet the code's requirements for depreciating them faster. When you increase depreciation expenses, you lower taxes owed. More annual expense write-offs - Repairs and maintanence are standard costs of doing business with CRE. When CSSI© is hired to perform an engineering-based cost segregation study, a CRE investor has tax code approved methods to determine what expenditures can be expensed or have to be capitalized. Following The 2014 Tangible Property Regulations, our study establishes cost thresholds that, in most cases, simplify and increase allowed expenditures for annual routine repairs and maintanence. More cash flow - There is only so far a business can go to reduce costs that can increase cash flow. "Money doesn't grow on trees but it could be hidden in the walls of your building. Cost segregation can help return as much as one dollar in tax savings for every ten cents spent on the service. It brings significant tax savings to building owners interested in retaining cash.'' (The Practicing CPA; William Barnes, CPA,CFP,CDFA,MST).
Costs for leasehold / tenant improvements, renovations, remodels, and expansion have sizable tax advantages when an engineering-based cost segregation study is included with the financials. CSSI© can find them for you.
CSSI©'s speciality is building asset valuations that match up with tax laws. After we deliver an engineering-based cost segregation study, Fred's clients can enjoy years of additional savings when they renovate, expand, or provide routine repairs and maintenence on their building. For example, instead of simply tossing building materials into a dumpster, we are the firm that can assign value to the items thrown away, document their cost, and hand your tax advisor numbers that become another layer of write-offs. Contact Fred to discuss how our engineering-based study can save you thousands of tax dollars when you perform leasehold improvements, renovate, or expand your building. .

For Tax Professionals

Grow Your Practice, Increase Customer Loyalty, and Keep Your Clients Compliant

We believe most tax professionals would love to offer more services to their clients and know they look for additional benefits that can provide more tax savings and increased cash flow. Not only does employing cost segregation provide enhanced client service and loyalty, but it shows your client that you are looking out for their business interests. At CSSI©, we understand the demands of your practice and perform expert calculations for tax professionals nationwide. We welcome the opportunity to demonstrage our approach to bring cost segregation services into your firm.

Is an engineering-based cost segregation study right for your client(s)?

We are your calculation experts

01

Timely Analysis & Estimate
CSSI© provides a no-cost analysis that is a predictive estimate of your client's tax savings benefits. Our tax partners let the estimate help them determing how, or if, an engineering-based cost segregtion study might fit their tax strategy for the client.
Get one

02

80 / 20 Rule
The last thing our tax partners need is another time consuming task. We understand and respect your work schedule and deadlines. CSSI© does 80% of the tasks including the estimate, client communications, document collection, site visit, draft cost reports, generating the cost segregation study, and if necessary, the 3115 form. Your 20% involves direction for client communications, building basis confirmation, draft cost and 3115 form approval, (CSSI© completes the 3115 for you), and then including CSSI©'s documentation with your client's tax return.

03

Compliance Matters
Tax laws are important and CSSI© follows them completly. As pioneers in documentation aligned with The Tangible Property and Building Repair Regulations, our work products ensure your firm and clients are compliant. Our studies include the Unit of Property designations for buidling systems and valuations giving you a tax-code compliant tool that can meet a client's annual expense verses capitalization decisions.

04

Implementation
CSSI© is not in the tax return business and has no interest in competing with our tax advisor partners. We follow your directions for engaging your client with our services. Most or our tax partners make an introduc-tion and we explain the estimate, benefits, and process. Some prefer to use our estimate during the client's planning meeting and others have us join those meetings. How CSSI© introduces cost segregation is completly up to you.

05

Delivery
The CSSI© estimate will include the projected tax benefits, a simple engagement letter and our fee to qualify, value and document the saving.. Should your client elect to hire us, we require a retainer before our team can begin the study. CSSI©'s typical turn-around time is between six and eight weeks and Fred provides updates along the way. Our tax partners receive draft numbers for their acceptance before the final study is generated.

06

Advisory Services
CSSI© is the nation's premier engineering-based cost segregation study firm and we are experts in tax laws regarding depreciation, Section 179, 1031 exchanges, The Tangible Property & The Repair Regulations. Once you partner with us, you will receive guidance and advisory services at no cost to you or your clients.

Our expertise CSSI© integrates complex tax-law solutions that were established to maximize your savings into every engineering-based study.

  • Accelerated Drepreciation Benefits
  • Repair Regulations (263(a)) Specialists
  • Expense vs Capitalization Strategies
  • Routine Maintenance & Safe-Harbors
  • Partial Asset Disposition
  • Section 179 & Bonus Depreciation Benefits
  • RABI Rules
  • And More....
"Over the years, the standards for applying [The Repair Regulations] as set forth in case law and adminstrative guidence, have proven to be difficult to discern and apply in practice leading to considerable uncertainty and controversy. In September 2014, the IRS and Treasury published the final regulations (T.D. 9636) collectively know as "The Tangible Property Regulations" that codify standards and practices for taxpayers regarding how building costs can be expensed or have to be capitalized." "In many cases, taxpayers who previously decided not to conduct cost segregation studies for depreciation purposes are hiring specialists with engineering expertise to determine units of property for applying the inprovement rules. Cost segregation studies now serve additional purposes. For example, not only do these studies reclassify a building's components into assets with shorter class lives, but they also identify building systems for purposes of applying the improvement rules". "Taxpayers have used cost segregation studies to determine what constitutes § 1245 (personal) or § 1250 (real) property for years. Historically, they have resulted in advantageous depreciation deductions for taxpayers. With the issuance of the final regulations, the demand for cost segregation studies is on the rise." Source: Internal Revenue Service, Capitalization of Tangible Property, AUDIT GUIDE 9/14/2016
Our objective is to put you, the tax professional, first with your client.
CSSI© does not perform accounting services and would never be your competition. We frequently perform studies on buildings with cost basis as low as $200,000 and, if necessary, complete the 3115. There's even no need to amend a tax return. Also, our expert tax counsel is always available to provide guideance and answer questions.
Extremly cost effective
CSSI© saves time by helping tax professionals qualfiy clients. Our goal is to simpify the process so that your involvment is minimal. We provide you with estimates, cost documents, the 3115 and 481(a) adjustments. Additionally, the ROI for the building owner is very compelling. CSSI©'s engineeering-based studies often identify 15% - 30% of building costs that can be accelerated. By partnering with CSSI© , you will be working with a firm that has expertise beyond the scope of most tax professionals and operates within approved U.S. Tax guidelines.
Look-back, catch-up, save taxes
Often over-looked is how a cost segregation study can be used with properties owned for some time. The tax code allows the accelerated depreciation benefits to be applied with buildings held for 15 years. CSSI© has the expertise to "look-back" and qualify, value, and document assets that could have been accelerated but ended up along a straight line depreciation. The total of those costs can be used in the current tax year as "catch-up" depreciation and drive sizable savings.

Value-Added Resources

If you service, advise, or work with CRE investors, having a tool that can impact their largest annual expense (paying income taxes) will seperate you from the pack of others competing for business. Regardless of an investor's strategic goals with their properties, cash flow is always a driving force. An engineering-based cost segregation study can be the foundation for tax advantaged investment decisions that improve ROI and become one of your most useful resources.
Pro Formas, NOI, forecasting, cap rates, and budgeting are standard applications with CRE. However, where the rubber meets the road is cash flow after the deal is closed. A cost segregation study will deliver more of it during the initial years of ownership where break even and profit margins are essential. Working with Fred, he can provide guidance about how cost segregation uses tax benefits that can help your clients cover overhead, meet quarterly estimates, and even pay down debt.

Tax Advantaged Investing

CSSI© began including The Tangible Property Regulations (TPRs) with our engineering-based cost segregation studies back in 2012 when our tax partners began asking how they could meet The TPRs' requirements. Having completed thousands of studies that met the requirements by the time the TPRs were codified in 2014, we could provide a predictive analysis that merged accelerated depreciation with The TPR benefits our engineering-based study. Using CSSI©'s analysis, CRE investors can identify how their building costs would enable them to use the tax code to improve rates of return. Tax Advantaged Investing is about using an engineering-based cost segregation study that includes The TPRs to maximize cash flow. Contact Fred for guidance about better cash on cash returns when you include CSSI© with your CRE investments.
CRE Agents / Brokers
The competitive environment of doing deals requires a commercial real estate professional who can differentiate their expertise from others. Having an understanding of tax advantaged investing by including a cost segregation study with a transaction can do that. Fred has completed studies for a growing base of CRE agents / brokers and delivered tax savings exceeding $42 million to their clients. None of them had ever heard of cost segregtion until their broker/agent introduced them to Fred.
Financial Advisors
CRE is often considered an asset class that simply generates income and will appreciate in value until sold or transferred to an interested party. When a cost segregation study is included with an investor's holdings, the additional tax savings can be used to acquire other assets and pay off debt. Fred spent 16 years as a registered investment advisor and has helped other investment advisors, insurance professionals, and portolio managers include cost segregation with their client's investment strategy.

CPE - Speaker's Bureau

Mr. Clapp is a frequent presenter and facilitator for continuing education and in-house CPE sessions. A subject matter expert for building expensing and depreciation strategies, he and the CSSI© leadership team have spoken at events nation-wide and would welcome an opportunity to meet with your firm.
Request a meeting or CPE presentation

Learn More

There are over 74,000 pages in the US Tax code and CSSI© specializes in the small sections that focus on depreciation and building expenses. If you need more technical information, please check CSSI©'s resources and depth off experience:
FAQs & Other info
Cost Segregation Services, Inc. - CSSI©
10211 Siegen Lane, Building One Baton Rouge, LA 70810 More info visit:
CSSI©  LINK

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