Houston · Medical, Clinical & Research

Medical and research cost segregation in Houston.

Medical office, clinic and research property across greater Houston — from the Texas Medical Center and the TMC3 life-science district to Memorial, Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands and Clear Lake. Engagements include an on-site observation, and most studies are delivered within about two weeks.

Prefer to talk it through? Call (213) 444-2776.
Exploded engineering plate of a typical medical / research building separated into layers: roof and rooftop mechanical, structural frame, clinical and lab equipment, walls, floor slab and foundation, and the site.
Illustrative — a typical medical / research building, exploded into the component layers a study examines.
IRS ATG aligned
Methodology mirrors Pub. 5653
Fixed written fee
From $2,495 — quoted up front
On-site observation
Our technicians visit in ~1 week
CPA-ready report
Component-level, reviewer-approved
A representative $9M Houston medical office / research building
$960,385
moved into shorter recovery periods — 14.2% of depreciable basis in this illustrative model.
5-year
$853,219
15-year
$107,166
39-year
$5,789,615
$9,000,000 · 45,000 SF · built 2007 · Texas Medical Center-area medical office & research · 25,000 SF clinical / office build-out · medical-gas & imaging power · land at 25%. Illustrative engine output (v3.23.0), not a completed study. Estimated total first-year depreciation $1,077,909 including 100% bonus on eligible shorter-life property.
Largest modeled accelerated components
Clinical / office suspended ceiling & grid 5yr · $160,588
Clinical / office resilient flooring 5yr · $153,254
Clinical / office lighting & branch wiring 5yr · $108,499
Exam-room & office partitions (non-structural) 5yr · $107,535
Dedicated & imaging-suite power (high-amp drops) 5yr · $83,752
Service apron & paving (declared) 15yr · $83,843
Selected components; smaller shorter-life items make up the remainder.
Local knowledge

What makes Texas Medical Center property different for cost seg

Houston medical owners often underestimate how much of a clinical suite is tenant build-out rather than shell. The Texas Medical Center — the world's largest medical complex — and the TMC3 / Helix Park research district anchor a metro full of clinical and lab space defined by specialized construction: exam and lab casework, medical-gas piping, imaging-suite lead shielding and dedicated power, specialty HVAC and exhaust, and sterile-processing plumbing. A large share of that can qualify as §1245 or short-life property rather than 39-year building — and because practices reconfigure suites repeatedly, successive tenants install and remove it, which is where partial-asset-disposition timing comes in.

Why it matters for your study

Because we're on site, our engineering review inspects the clinical build-out first-hand — exam and lab casework, medical-gas outlets and piping, imaging-suite shielding and dedicated power, and specialty HVAC and exhaust — the §1245 value that defines a Houston medical or research suite, and documents the improvement generations so a prior practice's demolished build-out can be written off on the right timeline.

Why medical and research property rewards an on-site study

A clinical building hides its value indoors, and that value moves. The components that matter most — dedicated and imaging-suite power, medical-gas, specialty HVAC and exhaust, casework and shielded rooms — are installed and removed by successive practices, and none of it is described in a closing file or a listing photo.

Walking the property is how the build-out, the specialty systems and the improvement generations become a documented record instead of an assumption. Where records already support the components at issue, our remote model applies and costs less.

What we document at the property

Dedicated & imaging power

Medical buildings carry power well beyond general service — dedicated imaging-circuit feeds, emergency and standby systems, transfer switches and generators. We document service size, panels and the equipment served before treating a circuit as equipment-related.

Medical-gas & specialty systems

Piped medical gas (oxygen, vacuum, medical air, nitrous) and its source, isolation and negative-pressure exhaust, sterilization and lab exhaust, and — in research space — fume hoods, process and lab plumbing — documented as installed systems and evaluated on what they serve.

Casework & tenant build-out

Exam and procedure-room casework and millwork, lab benches, specialty finishes, and imaging-suite lead shielding and shielded control alcoves. Suites are reconfigured repeatedly, so one shell can carry several generations of improvements with different vintages.

Site & service improvements

Service and loading areas, parking, drives and aprons, exterior lighting, drainage and detention, and landscaping — real, but a smaller share than the interior on clinical and research product.

One building, three kinds of answer

Illustrative. Actual classifications are made per property, on the facts.

Commonly accelerates

Dedicated and imaging-suite power, medical-gas outlets and distribution, exam and lab casework and benches, specialty exhaust serving identified equipment, clinical and office finishes, and site improvements such as parking, lighting and detention.

Depends on the facts

Imaging-suite shielding and its dedicated HVAC, sterile-processing and specialty plumbing, tenant build-out of uncertain vintage, and equipment pads and floor reinforcement — turning on how each installation functions and what the records show.

Generally structural

Shell, structural frame, foundation and floor slab, exterior walls, roofing, general-purpose lighting, and building-wide HVAC, plumbing and fire protection — nonresidential real property depreciated over 39 years.

How the engagement works

01
Scoping
Basis, placed-in-service date, square footage, improvement history, records.
02
Fixed quote
A written fee up front — never a percentage of your deduction.
03
Observation
A field technician documents site improvements, equipment, and quantities.
04
Analysis
Reconciled to basis, modeled on industry-standard cost data, classified into MACRS lives.
05
Delivery
Quality-control and reviewer checks, then a CPA-ready component-level report.

Houston medical submarkets we serve

Texas Medical Center
TMC campus · TMC3 / Helix Park · Museum District · Med Center-adjacent
Suburban medical
Memorial / Katy · The Woodlands · Sugar Land · Clear Lake / Bay Area · Pearland
Counties
Harris · Fort Bend · Montgomery · Brazoria · Galveston

Related: our Energy Corridor industrial and R&D coverage, the sample medical-office report, industrial cost segregation, and our Houston commercial hub.

Frequently asked

Do you visit medical and research buildings in Houston?

Yes. Houston engagements include an on-site property observation by one of our technicians, typically within about a week. On clinical and research product the visit matters more than usual, because the casework, medical-gas, imaging power and specialty systems that carry the value are rarely legible from a closing file.

How long does a Houston medical study take?

Most commercial studies are delivered within about two weeks after the property visit, varying with build-out complexity and record availability.

How much does a Houston medical or research study cost?

Engineered commercial and industrial studies start at $2,495 and step with the improvement basis. You get a fixed written fee before any work begins, not a percentage of your deduction — or call us at (213) 444-2776.

What makes medical property distinctive for cost segregation?

The shell is the cheap part. Exam-room casework, medical-gas piping, imaging-suite shielding and dedicated power, and specialty HVAC and exhaust carry a large share of a clinical build-out, and successive practices install and remove them — so a medical suite tends to reclassify a larger share than an ordinary office of the same size, and often supports partial-disposition timing.

Want your own numbers instead? Get a free 1-page preliminary depreciation estimate for your property — we do the work, you get the PDF.
See my estimated Year-1 savings →

Ready to scope your building?

Tell us the address, basis, and placed-in-service date. We generally return a written scope and quote within one business day — or call the office at (213) 444-2776.

Get a study quote →