Residential rental · 27.5-year property
Cost Segregation for Apartments and Multifamily
Multifamily is the workhorse of cost segregation. The structure is 27.5-year property, but every unit contains a repeatable package of appliances, cabinetry and finishes, and every site contains parking, landscaping and amenities.
Multiply the unit, multiply the deduction
Reclassification in an apartment building scales with unit count because the short-life package repeats: refrigerator, range, dishwasher, microwave, disposal, washer and dryer, cabinets and vanities, countertops, carpet and luxury vinyl plank, window blinds, decorative lighting and ceiling fans. That package is 5-year property in every unit. On a 200-unit community it is a large number before you have touched the exterior.
Amenities and site improvements
Then add the leasing office and clubhouse build-out, fitness equipment and rubber flooring, pool equipment and decking, dog parks, playgrounds, mail and package rooms, gate operators and access control, carports, and the parking, sidewalks, landscaping and irrigation across the whole site. Site improvements at a garden-style community frequently exceed 10% of total basis on their own.
Component takeoff
What we pull out of apartments & multifamily
Grouped by the recovery period each component lands on. This is representative, not exhaustive — the takeoff on your building will be longer.
- 5Refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, microwaves and disposals
- 5In-unit washers, dryers and laundry-room equipment
- 5Kitchen and bath cabinetry, vanities and countertops
- 5Carpet, luxury vinyl plank and other removable flooring
- 5Window blinds, shades and decorative lighting
- 5Ceiling fans and dedicated appliance circuits
- 5Clubhouse, leasing office and fitness build-out
- 5Pool equipment, pumps, heaters and controls
- 5Access control, gate operators, cameras and package lockers
- 5Data, television and intercom cabling
- 7Clubhouse, leasing office and amenity furniture
- 7Fitness equipment and maintenance shop equipment
- 15Parking lots, drives, carport paving and sidewalks
- 15Pool decking, patios, grilling areas and shade structures
- 15Playgrounds, dog parks, sport courts and site furnishings
- 15Site lighting, poles, bollards and landscape lighting
- 15Landscaping, irrigation, retaining walls and fencing
- 15Storm drainage, detention ponds and site utilities
- 15Monument signage foundations and mail kiosks
- 27.5Building structure, foundations, framing and roof
- 27.5Exterior siding, windows and doors
- 27.5HVAC serving the building, plumbing risers and electrical service
- 27.5Stairs, corridors, elevators and life-safety systems
Questions
How much of the basis usually reclassifies on this property type?
Studies on apartments & multifamily typically move 20% to 30% of depreciable basis into 5, 7 and 15-year classes. That is a planning range from comparable buildings, not a promise — the number that ends up on your return comes from the actual takeoff.
What documents do you need?
The closing statement, the current depreciation schedule and the property address at minimum. Construction records, drawings, pay applications and change orders make the work more precise and often cheaper.
I bought this several years ago. Is it too late?
No. As long as you still own it and placed it in service after 1986, a look-back study captures every missed deduction and brings it forward on the current return via Form 3115. No amended returns.
The study is one piece. We can handle the rest of the return.
Deprecio is part of the Shurek Accounting & Tax family of brands. If you want the study and the tax work under one roof — the return, the Form 3115, entity structure, quarterly estimates, multi-state filings — that is a single engagement, not a hand-off between two firms.
No-cost feasibility review
Find out what your building is hiding.
A feasibility review is free and takes about twenty minutes. Bring the closing statement and the depreciation schedule; we will tell you plainly whether a study pays for itself.