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Interactive Visual Essay

The Hidden Tax Savings Inside Your Building

Every commercial building is a collection of assets depreciating at different rates. Most owners don't know this. The ones who do save six figures.

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01: The Problem

The 39-Year Trap.

When you buy a commercial building, the IRS says you can depreciate it over 39 years. That means on a $2M property, you deduct just $51,282 per year. The problem isn't the deduction, it's the time value of money. A dollar saved today is worth dramatically more than a dollar saved in year 30.

0 yrs
0% of your building depreciated
Year 1Year 39
Straight-line: 2.56% per year · $51,282 on a $2M property

But the IRS doesn't require you to depreciate everything at the same rate. Most property owners just don't know that.

02: The Study

X-Ray Vision.

A cost segregation study is like an MRI for your building. Licensed engineers identify every component that can be reclassified into a shorter depreciation life. On a typical property, 20-40% of the cost gets pulled forward.

Roof Structure
39 yr
HVAC Systems
5-7 yr
Electrical & Lighting
5 yr
Interior Finishes
5-7 yr
Plumbing Systems
5-7 yr
Structural Shell
39 yr
Site Work
15 yr
Parking & Landscape
15 yr
Personal Property (5-7 yr), 35%
Land Improvements (15 yr), 22%
Structural (39 yr), 43%

Tap or hover any layer to see what's included. Only the structural shell stays at 39 years, everything else gets accelerated.

03: The Acceleration

Time Travel for Your Taxes.

Under MACRS and Bonus Depreciation, reclassified assets can be deducted entirely in Year 1. Not spread over 5 years. All of it, immediately. Look at the spike.

Yr 1
2
3
4
5
6-10
11-15
16-27
28-39
Up to 40% of building cost reclassified to Year 1
Personal Property
Land Improvements
Structural

For a $2M property with 35% reclassified, that's roughly $700,000 in accelerated deductions in Year 1 alone.

04: The Payoff

The Compound Effect.

The real magic isn't the deduction, it's what you do with the cash. Tax savings reinvested today compound dramatically over time.

On a $2M commercial property
Year 1 Tax Savings
$0
Reinvested at 8% for 10 years
$0

Without cost segregation, you'd wait 39 years to recover this value. With it, you put that cash to work today.

Year 1 → 10

Cost segregation doesn't create new deductions. It moves them forward in time. And time, in investing, is everything.

Ready to find the savings hidden in your building?

Maven's licensed engineers have conducted over 1,000 cost segregation studies nationwide. Your preliminary estimate is free.