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Cost segregation beyond the headline
How engineering-based studies reclassify property components, where bonus depreciation fits, and why the deduction must be evaluated in the owner’s actual tax context.
Sean Graham, CPA A CPA, founder, and operator who can explain the strategy-and when it does not make sense.
Sean brings the tax mechanics of cost segregation together with first-hand experience acquiring, developing, and operating real estate. He gives hosts a nuanced conversation about depreciation, ownership, and the investment decisions behind the deduction.
Host brief / sean-graham Available by request
RoleFounder & Chief Technical CPA
Based in Sterling Heights, Michigan
Best formatInterviews, panels, and practical education
Media record19 podcast appearances
Fit 01Real estate investing
Fit 02Tax and CPA audiences
Fit 03Self-storage
Fit 04Founder stories
Tax strategy from both sides of the table.
Sean Graham, CPA sits at the intersection of tax strategy and real-world real estate ownership. Before founding Maven Cost Segregation, he built his career in public accounting and corporate finance and began investing through small multifamily properties and house hacking. He later expanded into self-storage acquisition, syndication, development, and operations.
That combination led Sean deep into one of real estate’s most misunderstood tax strategies: cost segregation. Today, Maven’s in-house engineering team documents and analyzes real property while Sean oversees the tax-strategy side of the work, including depreciation classification, placed-in-service timing, bonus depreciation, and Form 3115 coordination.
What makes Sean useful on a podcast is his willingness to discuss the limitations as clearly as the opportunity. He can explain the difference between creating a deduction and being able to use it, how hold period and recapture affect the economics, and why a study should support a sound investment rather than manufacture one.
Topics with substance, not talking points.
These themes are grounded in Sean’s verified work and experience. A host can stay practical or move into the underlying tax, operating, and decision-making details.
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When the strategy does-and does not-make sense
A practical discussion of taxable income, passive-loss limitations, hold period, recapture, study cost, and the ROI questions owners should ask first.
3
Short-term rentals, REPS, and material participation
How these concepts interact with depreciation strategy, why popular social-media summaries leave out important facts, and where the client’s CPA remains essential.
4
Look-back studies and Form 3115
What happens when an owner has held a building for years, how a Section 481(a) adjustment can enter the conversation, and why filing decisions require tax-advisor coordination.
5
The real economics of self-storage
Acquisition, development, unit mix, debt, operations, and the property-level lessons Sean learned while acquiring and developing more than $14 million of self-storage assets.
6
Building a specialized company
Moving from public accounting and finance into entrepreneurship, creating an engineering-led tax advisory firm, and learning to build distributed teams without losing accountability.
Questions that open a real conversation.
Q01
Why does a cost segregation study create a deduction without guaranteeing that the owner can use it immediately?
Q02
What should an investor understand about hold period and depreciation recapture before ordering a study?
Q03
What does an in-house engineering team contribute that a spreadsheet-only approach cannot?
Q04
Why do short-term-rental and real-estate-professional conversations require more nuance than a viral tax clip suggests?
Q05
What did operating self-storage teach you that changed the way you advise property owners?
Q06
When would you tell an owner not to move forward with cost segregation?
Experience the audience can question.
01 / Professional credentialMichigan-registered CPA
Founder and Chief Technical CPA of Maven Cost Segregation.
02 / Study oversight5,000+ studies
Detailed engineering studies personally overseen, representing $750M+ in identified deductions.
03 / Operator experience$14M+ self-storage
Self-storage assets acquired and developed, alongside residential rental ownership.
04 / Published perspectiveTax + real estate media
Featured by Accounting Today, CPA Practice Advisor, Think Realty, BiggerPockets, and industry podcasts.
Key conversations with Sean
Highlights from Sean’s episodes in Maven’s podcast library. Each one opens its own page, and the full list follows.
Bigger PocketsApr 27, 2025
BiggerPockets: Avoid Paying Taxes (Legally) with THIS Rental Tax Loophole
Most people invest in real estate for cash flow or appreciation, but there are enormous tax benefits as well. In this episode, we’re going to share the number one tax strategy you need to know about the short-term rental tax loophole which could save you thousands! Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! Today, we’re joined by Sean Graham, who is not only a certified public accountant (CPA) but also a fellow real estate investor. He’s going to show YOU how to avoid paying Uncle Sam (legally) with just a few savvy tax strategies. The best part? You don’t need to be a big-time investor with a large real estate portfolio to take advantage of these benefits. Even if you have just ONE rental, these strategies are for you! First, Sean will share the ins and outs of the cost segregation study, which allows you to frontload depreciation rather than spreading it out over the next few decades. He’ll also get into bonus depreciation and the different line items that qualify, as well as the tax “loophole” that allows you to use tax deductions to offset active income-yes, including your W2 wages!
View episodePodcast appearances
19 episodesThis list is loaded from Maven’s podcast library. Each row opens that episode’s page.
IndexDateEpisodeShowOpen
01The Storage Investor Show: Self Storage Investing and VA Success Strategies with Sean GrahamKris Bennet02Defining Your Niche Podcast: Time Invested Now for the Results You Want Later - The Entrepreneurial JourneyThaddeus Campbell03Kerry Lutz's--Financial Survival Network: How the Latest Tax Cuts Affect Bonus Depreciation for Real Estate - Sean GrahamKerry Lutz04DeRosa Insiders LIVE: The Future of Multifamily and Cost Segregation with Sean GrahamDerosa Group05Scott Meyers: Smart Tax Moves, Cost Segregation Strategies for Self-StorageScott Meyers06The Gentle Art of Crushing It: Unlock Tax Savings with Cost Segregation Sean Graham Offers Exclusive Discount for ListenersRandy Smith07This is the Way Podcast: Guide to Creating Multiple Revenue Streams (While Juggling a 9-to-5) - Sean GrahamThis Is the Way with Artin & Michael08Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing with Jonathan Greene: Unleashing Your Property’s True Potential Through Cost Segregation with Sean GrahamJonathan Greene09Let's Have This Conversation: Benefits of Cost Segregation in Real Estate Investing and International HiringKevin McShan10BiggerStays: Major Tips To Save On Short-Term Rental TaxesBiggerStays11Grow Learn: Maximize Real Estate Profits with Cost SegregationGrowlearn12Awakened Titans Podcast - Lily Patrascu: Tax Savings For Your Property Business - Sean Graham and Lily PatrascuLily Patrascu13James Donovan: Why Cost Segregation Isn’t Just for Real Estate InvestorsJames Donovan14Liquid Lunch Project: How This CPA Turned Storage Sheds Into Tax-Free Wealth | Real Estate + Tax SecretsLiquid Lunch Project15Investor Fuel - Unlocking Tax Secrets: Sean Graham on Cost Segregation StrategiesBigger Pockets16Groundbreakers: The 10x ROI Power of Cost Segregation: How Sean Graham Uses This Strategy to Boost Indefinitely Defer TaxesGroundbreakers17Real Wealth Show: The Big Beautiful Bill, Bonus Depreciation, and Cost SegregationReal Wealth Show: Real Estate Investing Podcast18Michael Blank: Keep More. Pay Less. Scale Faster. How Smart Investors Save Six Figures on Taxes with Cost SegregationMichael Blank19BiggerPockets: Avoid Paying Taxes (Legally) with THIS Rental Tax LoopholeBigger Pockets
Approved short bio
Sean Graham, CPA is the Founder and Chief Technical CPA of Maven Cost Segregation: Tax Advisors. A former public-accounting and corporate-finance professional, Sean is also an active real estate investor who has acquired and developed more than $14 million of self-storage assets. He has overseen 5,000+ detailed engineering cost segregation studies representing more than $750 million in identified deductions and is known for explaining both the opportunity and the limitations of real estate tax strategy in plain English. Learn more about Sean and Maven Cost Segregation at www.mavencostseg.com.
Host notes
- Best suited to tax, real estate, self-storage, CPA, and founder audiences.
- Can move between technical tax mechanics and operator-level investment decisions.
- Avoid framing any illustrative deduction as a promised client result.
Useful Maven context before the interview.
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