Behind the Scenes of a Cost Segregation Firm
Nothing is as frustrating as contracting with a cost segregation firm to help you reduce taxes and then waiting for six, eight, or even twelve weeks to complete the study.
While waiting, your CPA tells you your taxes have been completed, but the cost segregation study delays the filing. Unfortunately, your CPA will probably receive the study results twenty-four hours before filing. We think this is unacceptable. To top it off, you have already paid the cost segregation firm a retainer to start your study, and now you are worried about missing a looming tax deadline.
Does it really take eight weeks to do engineering calculations?
No.
Is a cost segregation study so complex that it requires over one hundred hours of engineering time?
Not at all.
Then why do some cost segregation firms take eight weeks to complete a study?
Insufficient and improperly trained engineering staff, meager communication between sales representatives and operations, and inadequate tax knowledge. All reasons which should make you wary. Sitting and waiting in a queue for your project to arrive in an engineer’s inbox for weeks is a sign of flawed management. It is typical for a client to ask if their final study is complete while it has been sitting for weeks without attention.
By choosing a firm that operates a cost segregation mill, your taxes are being delayed because of the sheer volume of an overstressed firm and poor planning management. There are one hundred studies ahead of yours waiting for an engineer. If you can get an answer about the delay, you should consider yourself fortunate.
How is TPTM different?
TPTM is a Tax Method Change firm that also performs cost segregation studies. We have done over five hundred studies in the last twelve months.
Once the data for your building is collected, your project goes into a short engineering queue with complete internal transparency regarding the timeframe. In other words, our engineers communicate with operations, who communicate with your representative, who communicates with you. We know exactly which projects our engineers are working on each day. When you ask, we have an answer.
Should we require additional information once your project is in engineering, your study is not put to the bottom of a stack. Instead, your study will immediately resume. In most cases, our engineers will complete your study in days, not weeks.
So if you or your CPA have experienced a frustrating turnaround from a national cost segregation firm, relax. We are just a phone call away.
Kevin Jerry is a nationally recognized expert in Tax Method Changes. He specializes in Cost Segregation, Tangible Property Regulations, and revenue recognition changes. Kevin graduated cum laude from the University of Cincinnati with a Master of Science in Real Estate Taxation. Over the last seven years, he has worked with Eric Wallace on the Tangible Property Regulations with some of the largest property owners in the country.
