A boring accounting principle that wealthy folks love (and why you should too)
THE BORING ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLE THAT SAVES MILLIONS
Wealthy folks love the Deferred Tax Liability — a boring accounting principle that shapes how they think about money.
Here's the concept: Would you rather pay $100,000 in taxes today, or pay that same $100,000 in 30 years?
If you picked "30 years," congratulations. You understand the time value of money.
At 7% annual returns, that $100,000 grows to $761,000 over 30 years. So deferring that tax bill is worth $661,000.
That's the Deferred Tax Liability. And real estate just became the ultimate DTL machine.
Congress Just Changed Everything
The One Big Beautiful Bill made 100% bonus depreciation PERMANENT for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
Translation: You can now write off 20-30% (sometimes more) of any investment property's purchase price in year one.
This isn't temporary. It's permanent law.
Let me show you exactly what this means with real numbers.
The $3.2 Million Case Study
Client closed on a $3.2M apartment complex last month:
- Down payment: $640,000
- Cost segregation study: $4,500
- Accelerated depreciation: $960,000
- Tax savings at 40% rate: $384,000
He recovered 60% of his down payment through tax savings.
In year one.
Here's How to Calculate YOUR Tax Savings
- Step 1: Take your property's purchase price
- Step 2: Subtract land value (usually 20% of purchase)
- Step 3: Multiply by 25% (typical cost seg acceleration) Step 4: Multiply by your tax rate
Example on a $500K rental: $500K purchase → $400K building → $100K accelerated depreciation → $37,000 tax savings at 37% rate
That's real money back in your pocket April 15th.
>> State Tax Warning: Most states don't follow federal bonus depreciation. California, New York, and others make you spread it out. You still get the federal savings, but state taxes will be higher. Factor this into your planning.
The Boring Part That Makes You Rich
Normal depreciation: Buildings depreciate over 27.5 years (residential) or 39 years (commercial).
Cost segregation breaks your building into components:
- Structure: 27.5 or 39 years
- Land improvements: 15 years
- Personal property: 5-7 years
- Anything under 20 years: 100% BONUS in year one
Appliances, carpeting, landscaping, parking lots, HVAC components — all qualify for acceleration.
The IRS publishes the exact rules in their Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide. This isn't a gray area. It's following the manual.
Your Action Plan (Pick Your Path)
Already own investment property?
- Get a cost seg study quote this week ($1,500-5,000)
- File Form 3115 to catch up on missed depreciation
- Amend returns for properties bought in last 3 years
- Book time with a real estate tax CPA if your current one doesn't know cost seg
Buying property in 2025?
- Factor 25% bonus depreciation into every deal analysis
- Add cost seg contingency to your offers
- Close before December 31 to maximize deductions
- Order the study day one after closing
Want to offset W-2 income? You need Real Estate Professional status:
- 750+ hours in real estate annually
- More than half your work hours in real estate
- Material participation in your properties
- Elect aggregation to treat all properties as one
Track everything. The IRS will ask for proof.
Three Advanced Moves
Stack Strategy: Buy one property annually. Fresh depreciation every year. Some clients haven't paid taxes in a decade.
Die-Hold Strategy: Never sell. Refinance tax-free. Depreciate forever. Heirs get stepped-up basis. Taxes disappear.
1031 Chain: Exchange into bigger properties. Get fresh cost seg each time. Defer taxes until death.
The Recapture Reality Check
"But Mitchell, don't you pay it all back when you sell?"
Short answer: Some of it, but who cares?
Longer answer: Personal property recaptures as ordinary income. But you've had a zero-interest loan from the IRS for years. Even paying some back at higher rates, the compound growth makes you wealthy.
Plus, see those three strategies above? My smartest clients never trigger recapture at all.
Five Expensive Mistakes
- Waiting - Costs you ~$10,000 per year per $1M in property
- Wrong entity - S-Corps can't use real estate losses against other income
- No aggregation election - Makes qualifying as RE Pro nearly impossible
- DIY studies - IRS throws out non-engineering studies
- Poor records - No time logs = no deduction in audit
This Works For:
- Property owners with $500K+ real estate
- Business owners who own their building
- High earners sick of paying 37% taxes
- Anyone who plans to hold property 5+ years
Skip it if:
- You're flipping within 2 years
- You're in the 12% tax bracket
- You don't have passive income to offset
Your Next Move
The combination of permanent bonus depreciation and proper tax strategy can cut your tax bill by 50% or more.
I've been implementing these strategies for 15 years. Most property owners leave $50,000+ on the table annually.
If you own investment real estate and want to know exactly what you're missing:
We'll calculate:
- Your specific depreciation potential
- Whether RE Pro status makes sense
- Exactly how to implement for 2025
- What you can recapture from prior years
We only work with serious property owners (minimum $500K property value) who are ready to act.
Fair warning: By March, we're booked through summer. The sooner you implement, the more you save.
Let's put that boring accounting principle to work.
P.S. Your current CPA might call this aggressive. They're not wrong — it's aggressive AND legal. The IRS publishes the rules. We just follow them better than most.
P.P.S. Every month you wait costs you money. A $1M property owner who waits until December instead of implementing now loses about $8,000 in potential savings. The clock's ticking.