How much does a cost segregation study cost?

Published prices start at $495 for qualifying rentals. Full-service residential studies in our comparison include $1,200–$2,500 ranges. Commercial software starts at $1,295, while full-service commercial and larger-building ranges reach $12,000. Large or complex properties can cost more.

Those numbers come from the price pages of eight companies. We read each one on October 6, 2026. They are published prices. They are not a national average, and they are not a quote for your property.

The study fee is also not the whole bill. Your tax preparer may charge to put the study on your return. And if you have owned the property since an earlier tax year, you may need Form 3115, the IRS form for changing how you depreciate a property. R.E. Cost Seg charges $600 per property to prepare it under standard timelines. RentalWriteOff and Virtual Cost Segregation include it under their stated terms. A catch-up schedule alone is not the completed form.

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By CostSegregationMatch · Prices checked October 6, 2026 · These provider links are unpaid. How we make money.

Cost segregation study prices that providers publish

Start with an offer that covers your property. A low price only helps if your property fits its limits.

Watch the wording as you read. An example is one sample price. Starting at is the floor. A range means the provider sets the final number.

Do-it-yourself software

You type in the property details. The software builds the report.

Remote reports with a provider review

You answer questions or send documents. The provider builds and checks the report. These offers start with remote work; Cost Seg Smart includes an on-site survey and engineering review for its $3 million-and-up commercial tiers.

Full-service studies

The provider does more of the work. Some include a video or in-person inspection.

Nine offers from eight companies, checked October 6, 2026. We have not bought or tested these studies. Confirm the scope and final fee with the provider before you order.

Six details to confirm before you rely on a price

Some providers word a limit two ways. If your property sits near one of these lines, ask before you pay.

• KBKG software. The homepage says properties "up to" $1.5 million in basis. The FAQ says "under."
• Rapid Report. One page says basis of $1.2 million "or less" and improvements of $50,000 "or less." The FAQ says "under" for both. One page says 3,500 square feet "per unit." Another leaves that out.
• RentalWriteOff. The pricing page says you can use an appraisal or a rental listing. The terms say you must upload an appraisal.
• Cost Seg Smart. Its current pricing page explicitly uses purchase price for acquisition studies and has a different schedule from its cheap-study article. We use the pricing page. Ask about an exact tier boundary and any custom-scope exception; don't substitute tax basis for purchase price.
• DIY Cost Seg. Its software page lists $495–$995 residential and $1,295–$2,690 commercial, below the upper prices on its Get Your Report page. Check the actual order price.
• Modern CFO. Exactly 20 units appears in overlapping published bands, and its two pages differ between "above $10 million in basis" and "$10 million+ properties." Confirm the range and inspection scope in your written quote.

What about firms that don't publish prices?

Some engineering and accounting firms quote each job individually.

One CPA firm, Patrick Accounting, has published a rough guide: $7,000–$12,000 for a $500,000–$1 million property, $10,000–$20,000 for $1–$3 million, $20,000–$40,000 for $3–$10 million, and $40,000–$60,000 or more above $10 million. (Source, dated September 18, 2025.) That is one firm's framework. It is not a survey.

If your quote looks like those numbers, don't assume it is wrong. Find out what it buys. The rest of this page shows you how.

Not sure which kind of study fits your property? Our finder compares three of these offers in more depth: KBKG's software, the Rapid Report, and the Fully Engineered Study.

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What would a study cost for your property?

Use the tool in two steps. First, check the published prices against your property details. Then add the extras to get the real total for one or two quotes. A starting price or published range is not a confirmed quote.

The tool calculates in your browser and does not save or submit your entries. You do not need an email or an account. Copy or print a comparison if you want to keep it.

A worked example

Say you have two quotes for the same rental. These numbers are made up to show the math.

Quote B's study fee is $600 higher. But its total is $150 lower, because Form 3115 is included.

That still doesn't make Quote B the better study. It only means the sticker price told you the wrong story. Check that both quotes cover the same property and the same work.

Now change one thing. Say Quote A's tax preparer fee is "Not quoted." The tool shows a known subtotal of $2,250 and stops there. It will not call that the cheaper quote. A missing price is not a zero.

The math, if you'd rather do it by hand: total = study fee + every extra you have to pay. Leave nothing blank. If you don't know a cost yet, write "not quoted" and ask.

What costs extra beyond the study fee?

The fee buys the report. Putting the report to use can cost more. Here is what we found published.

DIY's $295 purchase-time option has strict conditions. The company says support can be voided if it is not notified within five business days of any IRS audit notice, or if you contact the IRS before notifying DIY. Photos or videos are required and travel can cost extra. If you declined the option, later help is discretionary and starts at $1,995. Coordinate promptly with your tax professional; these provider terms do not change IRS response deadlines. (DIY FAQ · Order terms)

How extras change the picture

Take two offers for an older fourplex that qualifies for both products. This uses Rapid Report's starting fee and assumes Form 3115 is needed.

• Rapid Report: $950 starting fee + $600 for Form 3115 = from $1,550
• RentalWriteOff: $899, with Form 3115 included if you qualify = $899

A $51 gap at those study fees becomes a $651 gap once the form is counted. These subtotals are before your tax preparer's fee and any payment or other charges; Rapid Report's final quote can be higher.

These are different products with different limits and different audit help. So check fit first, then compare the total.

Form 3115 preparation is not an IRS fee

The IRS charges no user fee for a Form 3115 filed under its automatic change procedures. (IRS Instructions for Form 3115) What you pay for is someone's time to prepare it.

Also ask who files it. R.E. Cost Seg prepares the form, but you or your CPA handle signing and filing. Your tax preparer decides whether you need the form at all.

Add these costs to my comparison

Why one study costs $495 and another costs $10,000

One reason is who does the work.

Four more things move the price.

The building. A hotel has more kinds of equipment and finishes to sort than a warehouse. Modern CFO and R.E. Cost Seg both say their fee moves with property type, size, and complexity.

Your records. Clean closing statements and construction invoices mean less work. Missing records mean more.

The inspection. None, video, or in person. An in-person visit can add travel and inspection costs, unless it is included in the fee.

Speed. Published delivery times run from the next business day to about four weeks. Rush orders can cost more.

Ask which number sets the price

Purchase price and basis are not the same number.

Say you paid $900,000 and $200,000 of that was land. That leaves $700,000 before other basis adjustments. KBKG prices by tax basis with land left out. Cost Seg Smart's acquisition-study matrix uses purchase price. Use the wrong number and you'll land in the wrong price tier.

Ask how the fee is set

Here are four fee structures to recognize.

1. One flat price. Virtual Cost Segregation charges $2,200. RentalWriteOff charges $899.
2. Steps by price or basis. Cost Seg Smart and KBKG work this way.
3. By property type and size. Modern CFO and R.E. Cost Seg's full study work this way.
4. A share of your tax savings. Some firms use contingency fees tied to the tax benefit, as the IRS audit guide describes.

Get the fee or its calculation in writing. If the fee is a share of your savings, ask what number it applies to and whether there is a cap. The IRS tells examiners to review fee arrangements and closely scrutinize studies paid on a contingency basis because of the incentive to increase favorable allocations. (IRS Publication 5653, Chapter 5) That alone doesn't make a study wrong, but it is a reason to compare scope and get a second quote.

Is a cheap cost segregation study good enough?

It can be. Price alone does not tell you whether a study is well supported.

The IRS guide says there is no standard report format. It describes a quality study as accurate and well documented, with support for the asset classifications and allocated costs. It also includes a site visit among the characteristics of a quality study. For a remote report, ask how the provider documents the property's actual assets and supports its allocations. (IRS Publication 5653, Chapters 3–4)

So judge a low-cost study on what's in it. Start with these five checks:

1. Your property is inside the offer's published limits.
2. You are willing to do the data entry or questionnaire yourself.
3. The report says who prepared and reviewed it.
4. Your tax preparer has seen a sample, checked its support and methodology, and will use it.
5. Audit help is in writing, and you know where it stops.

Each low-cost offer has a tradeoff. These come from the providers' own pages.

• Software (KBKG, DIY Cost Seg): the result depends on what you type in.
• Cost Seg Smart: its cheaper remote tiers and its $3 million-and-up commercial survey scope are different. Ask who reviews your particular study and what documentation is included.
• Rapid Report: no inspection. Units must be identical or substantially similar; materially different layouts, mixed uses, or different placed-in-service dates need a different scope.
• RentalWriteOff: audit help stops at two hours unless you pay more.

Consider paying for more when the property is complex, it falls outside the low-cost limits, you did major renovations, or you want someone else to do the work. Commercial property alone does not rule out a lower-cost option.

The cheapest study is the wrong buy if your property is outside its limits.

Compare study options side by side

Is a cost segregation study worth the cost?

The first test is whether the extra tax you save this year is clearly more than the total cost, and whether you can actually use the deductions. The full decision also includes future deductions, your holding period, and tax when you sell.

A study generally moves depreciation deductions earlier rather than increasing the property's total depreciable cost. Under the usual federal MACRS system, a residential rental building is written off over 27.5 years and nonresidential real property over 39 years. A study finds the parts that can be written off faster. (IRS Publication 946)

And a deduction is not a dollar of tax saved. For the quick math below, a $10,000 usable deduction saves $10,000 times the marginal tax rate that applies to it.

The quick test

At a positive assumed federal tax rate: total cost ÷ tax rate = the extra usable deduction needed to cover the fee this year. This is a current-year cash-cost check, not a lifetime return calculation.

Here's an example. The total cost is $2,400 and your federal rate is 24%.

• $2,400 ÷ 0.24 = $10,000. You need $10,000 of extra deductions you can use this year.
• Say your tax preparer expects $30,000 of extra usable deductions. $30,000 × 24% = $7,200 less tax this year.
• $7,200 − $2,400 = $4,800 ahead this year.

If you can't use any of the extra deduction this year, you save $0 this year and you've spent $2,400. The deduction may still help in a later year. That takes a longer look with your tax preparer.

"Extra" means the amount above what you would deduct with no study. A provider can estimate accelerated deductions; your tax preparer checks how much is extra and usable this year. The tool above runs this math with your numbers. It does not work out your tax bracket, eligibility, state tax, or the value of later-year tax changes.

Four things that can shrink the benefit

1. You may not be able to use the loss. Rental losses are generally subject to passive-activity rules, and disallowed passive losses generally carry forward. At-risk rules can limit losses too. A study does not by itself make rental losses deductible against wages. (IRS Publication 925)
2. Dates matter. The 100% first-year write-off, called bonus depreciation, applies to qualifying property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025, subject to the applicable rules and elections. The acquisition rules include written binding contracts. Earlier acquisitions follow the rules for their original dates; a look-back study does not reset them. The entire building does not become eligible merely because you order a study. (IRS Notice 2026-11 · Publication 946)
3. Selling soon. Faster write-offs now can mean more tax when you sell. This is called depreciation recapture. (IRS Publication 544)
4. Land. Land can't be depreciated. A purchase that is mostly land has less to work with. (IRS Publication 946)

Is there a minimum property size?

Sellers disagree. Patrick Accounting suggests about $500,000 as a rule of thumb. Maven says it depends on the price, the land, and your taxes, not a single cutoff. Cost Seg Smart publishes a $495 tier for single-unit rentals under $300,000. None of those numbers is an IRS minimum.

Start with the quick test above, then look at the longer-term effects with your tax preparer. A $495 study and an $8,000 study need very different deductions to pay off.

Before you order, ask your tax preparer: "Would faster deductions help me this year, and what does the study need to include?"

Get a complete quote before you pay

Send every provider the same facts and the same questions. Then the answers line up and you can compare them.

Copy this, fill in the brackets, and send it.

Subject: Complete cost segregation study quote for [property type / number of units]

I am comparing study options for [property type], with [number of units or buildings] and approximately [square footage]. The acquisition date is [date], the placed-in-service date is [date], and relevant improvements are [brief description and dates].

Please confirm:

1. Whether this property fits the proposed service, and which property value or tax-basis figure you use for pricing.
2. The study fee and every required additional charge, including inspection/travel, separate buildings or improvements, payment-method fees, and any deadline-related charge.
3. Who prepares and reviews the analysis, what inspection or property evidence is used, and what information I must supply.
4. The report, asset schedules, supporting documentation, and explanations my tax preparer receives.
5. Whether Form 3115 preparation is included if needed, what that service contains, and who signs and files it.
6. What study-related support is included, its notice conditions and time or hour limits, and what costs extra if the study is questioned.
7. The delivery schedule, what starts the delivery clock, payment timing, and cancellation or refund terms.

Please distinguish included services, required extras, optional extras, and items that still need a quote. I will confirm the tax assumptions and any separate implementation fee with my tax preparer.

When the answers come back, put them in the tool above. Mark anything they didn't answer as "Not quoted."

Compare two quotes

Cost segregation pricing questions

What is the cheapest cost segregation study?

The lowest published starting or example price in this comparison is $495, before discounts, at three providers. Cost Seg Smart publishes $495 for a single-unit rental with a purchase price below $300,000. DIY Cost Seg's residential range starts at $495. KBKG's software shows $495 as an example at $750,000 of residential basis. Each has limits, so check the tables above.

What is the average cost of a cost segregation study?

We did not find an independently verifiable national average in the sources checked. Provider ranges cover different property types and levels of service, so averaging them would be misleading. Published prices for your kind of property are a better starting point, followed by a quote for the exact scope.

Does an older property cost more to study?

Not automatically. Virtual Cost Segregation includes look-back work and Form 3115 on request in its $2,200 fee. Cost Seg Smart includes catch-up workpapers, but charges separately for Form 3115 preparation. Check the study scope, the completed form, and your tax preparer's implementation fee separately.

Is the study fee tax deductible?

Some providers say it usually is. We did not find an IRS source that settles it for every case, so ask your tax preparer how to treat your invoice. The tool above uses the full cash cost and does not assume a deduction for the fee.

Can I get a discount for several properties?

Sometimes. Modern CFO publishes an automatic 10% discount for two or more studies in one engagement, with discounts up to 20%. KBKG's loyalty program discounts subsequent studies by 10% after $2,500 in cumulative spending, 15% after $7,500, and 20% after $15,000; status lasts through the end of the next calendar year. Virtual Cost Segregation publishes 10% off for three or more properties: $1,980 per study. R.E. Cost Seg prices portfolios by quote. Ask for the per-property scope and the total. Don't multiply a starting price by your number of buildings and call it a quote.

Is a free estimate the same as a study?

No. A free estimate shows a rough benefit and sometimes a fee. DIY Cost Seg, R.E. Cost Seg, and Maven offer one before you pay. RentalWriteOff's asks for your email. The study is the paid report your tax preparer uses.

How long does a study take?

Published times: usually the next business day at Cost Seg Smart, two business days at RentalWriteOff, three to five at Virtual Cost Segregation, about five for the Rapid Report, and 15 to 20 business days for R.E. Cost Seg's full study. Maven says a few weeks. Confirm the timeline for your scope and when the clock starts. R.E. Cost Seg's full-study estimate requires both the documents and the inspection to be complete; custom or inspected jobs can follow a different schedule from a standard remote report.

Will my CPA do the study or just use it?

Ask. Preparing the study, checking it, working out the catch-up, and filing the return are separate jobs. Get each one assigned so nothing is missed or billed twice.

How we checked these prices

We read each provider's own pricing, service, and terms pages on October 6, 2026. We picked offers that show different levels of service and kept each price next to its limits.

This is not a full market survey or a national average. We did not buy these studies, get private quotes, or test the reports. Provider pages show what a company says about its offer. IRS pages support the tax points.

When a provider words a limit two ways, we show both. A provider cannot pay to change a price or a fact on this page.

Read our methodology and editorial standards. Found a price that changed? Send a correction.

Find a study that fits your property

The right price is the price of a study that covers your property, plus the work to put it on your return. Confirm the scope, add up the total, then pick.

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