What the spreadsheet does
It applies a percentage. Enter a basis and a property type, out comes an allocation. Ten seconds, no fee.
The number may even be roughly right. What it is not is supported, and support is the entire product.
What support means
Support means a component list built from an actual takeoff of an actual building. It means each item priced from construction records or documented cost data. It means a stated legal basis for each classification, tied to the regulations and cases that define personal property. It means photographs proving the components exist and are configured the way the report says they are. It means a reconciliation showing the total costed equals your capitalised basis.
An examiner asked to accept a reclassification does not want a percentage. They want to see how you got there.
The specific things a model cannot know
Whether the HVAC serving the second floor is dedicated to tenant process equipment or conditioning the space generally. Whether the flooring is glued or floating. Whether the parking lot was repaved in 2019 and the old one is still on the schedule. Whether the electrical panel labelled 'kitchen' actually feeds cooking equipment. Whether the landscaping sits against the building or at the property line.
Every one of those changes the answer, and none of them is in a spreadsheet.
Where estimating tools legitimately fit
Feasibility. Our own estimator does exactly this, and it says clearly what it is: a planning range to decide whether to commission real work. That is a fair use. Filing a return on it is not.
The economics
A study fee is a small fraction of the deduction it produces, deductible itself, and it comes with support if the return is examined. The saving from doing it on a spreadsheet is measured in thousands. The cost of an unsupported position that gets adjusted, with interest and possibly penalties, is measured in multiples of that.
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