How Much Does a Cost Segregation Study Cost? (2026 Prices, From $495)
What a cost segregation study costs in 2026, by property type and purchase price: our full published price list, what traditional engineering firms typically charge, what drives the difference, how long a study takes, and when the fee is not worth paying.
A cost segregation study costs from $495 to $15,000 or more in 2026. What you pay depends on the property’s type and purchase price, and above all on how the provider delivers the study. Traditional engineering firms typically charge $5,000 to $15,000 and up. Mid-tier specialty firms usually quote $3,000 to $8,000. Automated engineering-based providers like Cost Seg Smart start at $495 for a home or short-term rental under $300K, $995 for a duplex to fourplex, and $995 for commercial property. Every study, at any price, classifies the building’s components into MACRS recovery periods under the same IRS guidance. The price difference comes from how much labor goes into each one.
Our prices are below, generated from the same price list checkout uses, so they are always current. For how other providers compare, including other automated firms, see our 2026 cost segregation pricing study.
What does a cost segregation study cost by property type?
Single-family, short-term rental, condo and ADU
The largest group of studies we deliver. The fee steps up with purchase price:
| Purchase price | Study fee |
|---|---|
| <$300K | $495 |
| $300K–$700K | $895 |
| $700K–$1M | $995 |
| $1M–$1.5M | $1,295 |
| $1.5M–$2M | $1,595 |
| $2M–$3M | $1,995 |
| $3M–$4M | $2,495 |
| $4M–$6M | $3,995 |
| $6M–$8M | $5,995 |
| $8M–$10M | $7,995 |
| $10M–$25M | $10,995 |
| $25M+ | Custom proposal |
Everything else, up to a $10M purchase price
| Property type | Study fee |
|---|---|
| Duplex, triplex, fourplex | $995–$8,495 |
| Apartments (5+ units) | $1,995–$10,495 |
| Office, retail, mixed-use | $995–$8,495 |
| Medical, restaurant and specialty commercial | $2,995–$10,995 |
| Industrial and warehouse | $2,495–$9,795 |
| Self storage | $2,495–$10,995 |
| Hotel and motel | $3,495–$13,995 |
Each range runs from our lowest band to the band that ends at a $10M purchase price. Above that, and for a few property types such as manufacturing and data centers, we quote by proposal. The pricing page has every band for every type. There is no hourly billing, and the fee does not depend on how large a deduction the study finds.
What does a traditional cost segregation firm charge?
Traditional firms quote per engagement, and most do not publish a price list. From our pricing study:
- Major engineering firms: $5,000 to $15,000 and up. Built for large commercial work. Expect a discovery call, a scheduled on-site engineer visit and a four-to-eight-week timeline. Complex hospitality or Class-A office engagements run well above that.
- Mid-tier specialty firms: $3,000 to $8,000. Leaner teams, often an on-site or hybrid engineer review, three to six weeks.
- For a single-family rental, one independent firm publishes $3,000 to $6,000 under $500K.
That on-site engineering judgment is worth paying for on large or unusual commercial property, where custom equipment and specialty building systems are not visible from documents and photos. On a rental home, a small apartment building or ordinary commercial space it rarely changes the result enough to justify the fee.
Why do cost segregation studies cost so much?
Almost all of the price of a traditional study is labor and scheduling, not the analysis itself:
- Travel and time on site. An engineer travels to the property for a half-day or full-day walkthrough before any analysis starts.
- Manual drafting. The report is written for each property from scratch.
- The queue. Your property waits its turn for an engineer, then for review.
The IRS Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide sets out what a quality study documents. It does not require that an engineer walk the property. So a provider that documents the same components without the travel can charge far less.
Here is how that works at Cost Seg Smart. You upload your closing statement and a few photos of the property. We combine them with county records and construction cost data, and a person on our team reviews the result before it is delivered. Properties above a $3M purchase price get a contracted on-site photo survey, and its cost is included in those bands. If you want an in-person visit on a smaller property, it is an optional add-on: $895, travel included, for properties in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
The other thing that moves a quote is complexity. A 2,000 sq ft single-family rental has the same building systems as thousands of others. A mixed-use building with retail below, offices above and structured parking has different systems on every floor, and the study grows with it.
How long does a cost segregation study take?
At Cost Seg Smart, usually the next business day once your documents and photos are in. Mid-tier traditional firms typically take three to six weeks, and major firms four to eight, mostly because of site-visit scheduling and manual drafting.
What do you get for the fee?
Whatever you pay, a legitimate study should include:
- An engineering report describing the property, the method and the data sources, with a component-by-component analysis.
- Component classification. Every component assigned to its MACRS recovery period (5, 7, 15, 27.5 or 39 years) under Rev. Proc. 87-56.
- Depreciation schedules year by year for each class, including bonus depreciation, which your CPA maps straight onto the return.
- Catch-up schedules for a property you already own. If the property was placed in service in an earlier year, the study includes the §481(a) catch-up schedules your CPA needs for Form 3115. Preparing the Form 3115 filing package itself is an optional add-on.
- Audit documentation. The method, its sources and its alignment with the IRS Audit Techniques Guide.
You can read a full sample report, or walk through a finished $750K Airbnb example.
Is a cost segregation study worth the cost?
The fee is roughly fixed while the tax saving grows with the property, so the return improves as the property gets larger. Two typical examples, assuming 100% bonus depreciation and that you can use the loss this year:
| $500K long-term rental | $750K furnished STR | |
|---|---|---|
| Land allocation | 20% | 20% |
| Depreciable basis | $400,000 | $600,000 |
| Moved to 5, 7 and 15-year property | $64,000 | $156,000 |
| Year-1 tax saving at 37% | $23,680 | $57,720 |
| Study fee | $895 | $995 |
| Return on the fee | 25x | 57x |
A furnished short-term rental moves more of its basis because furniture, appliances and outdoor amenities are all short-life property. The ROI guide works through these examples line by line, including what happens when passive-loss rules push the benefit into a later year. To run your own numbers, use the cost segregation calculator.
A useful sanity check on any quote: the industry’s own rule of thumb is that a study should return at least three to four times its fee in first-year tax savings.
Can I do my own cost segregation study?
Yes. No rule says who has to prepare a study, and DIY software exists for exactly this. You pay less and do the classification work yourself, and the report is customer-prepared. If the return is examined, a self-prepared study is judged against the same Audit Techniques Guide standard as any other. We compare the two approaches in cost segregation software vs. a done-for-you study.
Do CPAs do cost segregation studies?
Mostly not. Your CPA takes the finished study, puts its schedules on your return, and files Form 3115 if the property was placed in service in an earlier year. The engineering study itself usually comes from a cost segregation provider, and many CPAs refer clients to one. If you are a CPA, see our partner program.
For the full list of cases where we would tell you not to buy a study, see when not to do cost segregation.
Related reading
- Cheap cost segregation: what a low-cost study includes
- Is cost segregation worth it?
- Cost segregation pricing 2026: the full market study
- Is Cost Seg Smart legit? Reviews and methodology
- Cost Seg Smart vs. mid-tier engineering firms
Free preliminary depreciation estimate — property summary, basis allocation, five-year schedule. We do the work; you get the PDF.
See my estimated Year-1 savings →Frequently asked
How much does a cost segregation study cost?
In 2026 a cost segregation study costs anywhere from $495 to $15,000 or more. The price depends on the property's type and purchase price, and above all on how the provider delivers the study. Traditional engineering firms typically charge $5,000 to $15,000 and up, because each engagement includes a discovery call, an on-site engineer visit and a multi-week schedule. Mid-tier specialty firms usually quote $3,000 to $8,000. Automated engineering-based providers start at $495 for a residential property under $300K. Cost Seg Smart publishes its full price list by property type and purchase price on its pricing page.
How much does a cost segregation study cost for a rental property?
For a single-family rental, short-term rental or condo, Cost Seg Smart starts at $495 under $300K and prices by purchase price band after that, with every band published on the pricing page. Traditional firms commonly quote $3,000 to $6,000 for a single-family rental under $500K.
Why is there such a big price difference between providers?
Mostly delivery cost, not methodology. Every legitimate study classifies building components into MACRS recovery periods under the same IRS guidance. Traditional firms price in an engineer's travel and time on site, manual report drafting, and a queue that runs three to eight weeks. An automated provider works from your closing statement, your photos, county records and construction cost data, and keeps a person reviewing the result, so the fee reflects far less labor per study.
How long does a cost segregation study take?
At Cost Seg Smart a study is usually delivered the next business day once your documents and photos are in. Mid-tier traditional firms typically take three to six weeks and major firms four to eight weeks, largely because of site-visit scheduling and manual report drafting.
Can I do my own cost segregation study?
Yes. Nothing in the tax code requires a particular kind of preparer, and DIY software exists for it. The trade-off is that you do the classification work yourself and the report is customer-prepared. The IRS Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide describes what a quality study documents, and a self-prepared study is judged against the same standard if it is examined.
Do CPAs do cost segregation studies?
Most CPAs do not prepare the engineering study themselves. They take the finished study and put its depreciation schedules on your return, and they file Form 3115 if the property was placed in service in an earlier year. Many CPAs refer clients to a cost segregation provider for the study.
Is a cost segregation study worth the cost?
Usually, for a property you will hold for several years and whose losses you can actually use. The study fee is small next to the Year-1 tax saving on most rentals above about $200K. It is worth less when you plan to sell soon without an exchange, because depreciation is recaptured at sale, when passive-activity rules stop you using the loss this year, or when you are in a low tax bracket.
What is the downside of a cost segregation study?
Three things. Accelerated depreciation is recaptured as ordinary income when you sell, unless you exchange into another property. The extra deduction may be passive and unusable this year if you do not qualify for an exception such as the short-term rental rules or real estate professional status. And some states do not follow federal bonus depreciation, so the state benefit can be smaller than the federal one.
