Which cost segregation company is best for multifamily and short-term rentals?
The best cost segregation provider for a multifamily building or a short-term rental is the one whose product covers that property at its size, prices Form 3115 support the way your return needs it, and documents the study well enough for your CPA; the table below shows what each provider that publishes a price says on its own page about all three.
Of the providers that publish a price, read on their own pages on October 22, 2026, ClickDrag Finance (per property, the report for a property whose purchase price plus construction costs total under $2.0 million, ordered by the owner or by a CPA or advisor for a client, and the study for a property whose purchase price plus construction costs total up to $250 million, ordered by an owner from $2.0 million or by a CPA or advisor for a client), R.E. Cost Seg — Fully Engineered, R.E. Cost Seg — Rapid Report (a duplex to fourplex only, only when the units are identical or substantially similar, and within the property limits its page states), Cost Seg Smart and KBKG — CostSegregation.com state that they cover multifamily property, and ClickDrag Finance (per property, on the same conditions), R.E. Cost Seg — Fully Engineered, R.E. Cost Seg — Rapid Report (within the property limits its page states) and Cost Seg Smart state that they cover short-term rentals; KBKG — CostSegregation.com does not state short-term rental coverage on the page read.
At a glance
- For a single short-term rental, the lowest one-unit price another provider here publishes, among those that state short-term rental coverage, is Cost Seg Smart’s $495 (for a purchase price under $300,000, price read October 22, 2026); for a multifamily building, check that the product covers the unit count and layout (R.E. Cost Seg — Rapid Report covers a duplex to fourplex only, only when the units are identical or substantially similar, and within the property limits its page states).
- Form 3115 support differs by provider, including in its unit (per study or per property), and is often not published; the rule for when Form 3115 applies is on our Form 3115 page.
- Whether the depreciation offsets wages depends on §469, not on the provider: the short-term rental rule and the two multifamily routes are set out below with every condition.
- Competitor facts were read on each provider’s own page on October 22, 2026; prices carry their own dates.
How do the providers compare on multifamily, short-term rentals and Form 3115?
| Provider | Price, as published | Multifamily | Short-term rental | Form 3115 | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClickDrag Finance | $499* report (for a property whose purchase price plus construction costs total under $2.0 million) · $15,000 study (for a property whose purchase price plus construction costs total up to $250 million; ordered by an owner from $2.0 million, or by a CPA or advisor for a client)Price read October 12, 2026 | Yes, per property: the report for a property whose purchase price plus construction costs total under $2.0 million, ordered by the owner or by a CPA or advisor for a client, and the study for a property whose purchase price plus construction costs total up to $250 million, ordered by an owner from $2.0 million or by a CPA or advisor for a client; the study classifies the building as 27.5-year or 39-year under the IRC §168(e)(2)(A) dwelling-unit test set out below | Yes, per property, on the same size conditions as multifamily | Look-back studies are supported (the rule and its conditions are on our Form 3115 page); preparing the form itself is not a published service | October 22, 2026clickdragfinance.com/pricing, clickdragfinance.com/form-3115 |
| R.E. Cost Seg — Fully Engineered | From $2,320 (residential), from $2,730 (commercial)Price read October 12, 2026 | Yes: its page lists “multi-family buildings” among the residential properties it frequently works with | Yes: its page lists “short-term rentals like Airbnb properties” | Form 3115 preparation is an optional add-on at $600 per study | October 22, 2026recostseg.com/services/fully-engineered-study |
| R.E. Cost Seg — Rapid Report | From $950Price read October 12, 2026 | Duplex to fourplex only when the units are identical or substantially similar; its page says it is “not intended for multifamily properties with different layouts, mixed uses, or varying placed-in-service dates” | Yes: its page calls it a fit for single-family rentals, short-term rentals and small residential properties | A “Form 3115 CPA Support Package” add-on at $600 per property | October 22, 2026recostseg.com/services/rapid-report |
| Cost Seg Smart | Priced by purchase-price band (its pricing matrix): single-family, short-term rental or condo (one unit) from $495 (purchase price under $300,000); multifamily 2–4 units from $995 (purchase price under $300,000); multifamily 5+ units from $1,995 (purchase price under $1 million); standard commercial (office, retail, mixed-use) from $995 (purchase price under $500,000)Price read October 22, 2026 | Yes: its pricing page prices multifamily 2–4 units and multifamily 5+ units on separate tiers | Yes: its pricing page prices a short-term rental on the single-family tier, and its home page lists an “STR W-2 offset eligibility memo” in its short-term rental tier | Its pricing page and home page say the report includes the §481(a) catch-up schedule and supporting workpapers when a prior-year lookback applies, and that preparing and signing the form is a separately engaged, separately priced add-on (the price is not published on either page) | October 22, 2026costsegsmart.com/pricing (prices, tiers, Form 3115), costsegsmart.com (STR memo, Form 3115) |
| KBKG — CostSegregation.com | $495 (residential, for a $750,000 tax basis) · $1,295 (commercial, for a $1,000,000 tax basis); priced by tax basis, and above a $1.5M building basis the site gives a custom quotePrice read October 12, 2026 | Yes: its residential tier lists condos, townhomes, single-family, multifamily and ADUs | Not stated on the page read as a product tier (its savings estimator asks whether the property is a short-term rental) | Its page lists a “481a Calc Schedule” among what every report includes; Form 3115 preparation is not stated on the page read | October 22, 2026costsegregation.com |
Providers that quote on request are listed on the full comparison; a price comparison against an unpublished price is not possible. We are one of the providers in this table.
What does each provider say its product is for?
ClickDrag Finance
A multifamily property, or each property in a portfolio studied one property at a time, where the owner’s CPA wants a documented study at a published price, for a property whose purchase price plus construction costs total up to $250 million. Not the cheapest buy for a single short-term rental: Cost Seg Smart ($495, for a purchase price under $300,000, price read October 22, 2026) publishes a lower one-unit price on its own page. No licensed engineer signs a study at any base price: engineer sign-off is a $1,500 add-on.
R.E. Cost Seg — Fully Engineered
Its page: all commercial and residential properties; investors who prefer a fully managed, concierge-style service; properties that need detailed quantity measurements and cost per unit
R.E. Cost Seg — Rapid Report
Its page: residential properties with straightforward layouts, within limits on square footage, depreciable basis and renovation cost; cost-conscious and do-it-yourself owners, and CPAs who want a fast study
Cost Seg Smart
Not stated on the page read
KBKG — CostSegregation.com
Not stated on the page read
Is a multifamily building or a short-term rental 27.5-year or 39-year property?
Under IRC §168(e)(2)(A), a building is 27.5-year residential rental property only if 80% or more of its gross rental income for the taxable year is rental income from dwelling units, and under §168(e)(2)(A)(ii) a unit in a hotel, motel or other establishment more than half of whose units are used on a transient basis is not a dwelling unit, so a building rented mostly to short-term guests can be 39-year nonresidential real property instead.
How the transient-use exclusion applies to a short-term rental is covered on short-term rental cost segregation.
Can cost segregation on a short-term rental offset W-2 income?
Yes, a short-term rental’s loss, including the depreciation a cost segregation study accelerates, can offset wages and other nonpassive income, but only when the property’s average period of customer use for the year is seven days or less (so that under Treas. Reg. §1.469-1T(e)(3)(ii)(A) it is not a rental activity), the taxpayer materially participates in it under one of the seven tests in Treas. Reg. §1.469-5T(a) (for example, more than 500 hours in the year, or more than 100 hours and not less than any other individual), and only to the extent the basis, at-risk (§465) and excess business loss (§461(l)) limits also allow it; the regulation’s other exceptions, such as an average stay of 30 days or less with significant personal services, are separate tests.
Material participation records and the rest of the short-term rental rules are on short-term rental cost segregation.
When can multifamily depreciation offset other income?
A long-term rental is a passive activity under §469, so its loss generally offsets only passive income, through one of two routes:
- Under §469(i), an individual who actively participates in a rental real estate activity (a separate test from material participation, and one that requires an interest of at least 10% by value (a spouse’s interest counts) throughout the year) is exempt from the §469(a) disallowance for up to $25,000 of loss from the rental real estate activities in which the individual actively participates; the $25,000 is reduced by 50% of modified adjusted gross income above $100,000 and is gone at $150,000, and for a married individual filing separately it is $12,500, phasing out between $50,000 and $75,000, only if the spouses lived apart for the entire year, and zero if they lived together at any time during the year.
- Under §469(c)(7), a taxpayer is a real estate professional only if more than one-half of the personal services the taxpayer performs in trades or businesses during the year are performed in real property trades or businesses in which the taxpayer materially participates, and the taxpayer performs more than 750 hours of services during the year in real property trades or businesses in which the taxpayer materially participates (on a joint return, one spouse must meet both tests alone); the rental loss is then nonpassive only if the taxpayer also materially participates in that rental activity, with each rental tested separately unless the election under Treas. Reg. §1.469-9(g) to treat all interests in rental real estate as one activity was made.
More on each property type: multifamily cost segregation and short-term rental cost segregation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which cost segregation companies cover multifamily and short-term rentals?
Of the providers that publish a price, read on their own pages on October 22, 2026, ClickDrag Finance (per property, the report for a property whose purchase price plus construction costs total under $2.0 million, ordered by the owner or by a CPA or advisor for a client, and the study for a property whose purchase price plus construction costs total up to $250 million, ordered by an owner from $2.0 million or by a CPA or advisor for a client), R.E. Cost Seg — Fully Engineered, R.E. Cost Seg — Rapid Report (a duplex to fourplex only, only when the units are identical or substantially similar, and within the property limits its page states), Cost Seg Smart and KBKG — CostSegregation.com state that they cover multifamily property, and ClickDrag Finance (per property, on the same conditions), R.E. Cost Seg — Fully Engineered, R.E. Cost Seg — Rapid Report (within the property limits its page states) and Cost Seg Smart state that they cover short-term rentals; KBKG — CostSegregation.com does not state short-term rental coverage on the page read.
Can cost segregation losses on a multifamily property offset other income?
Usually not directly, because a long-term rental is a passive activity under §469. Two routes exist. Under §469(i), an individual who actively participates in a rental real estate activity (a separate test from material participation, and one that requires an interest of at least 10% by value (a spouse’s interest counts) throughout the year) is exempt from the §469(a) disallowance for up to $25,000 of loss from the rental real estate activities in which the individual actively participates; the $25,000 is reduced by 50% of modified adjusted gross income above $100,000 and is gone at $150,000, and for a married individual filing separately it is $12,500, phasing out between $50,000 and $75,000, only if the spouses lived apart for the entire year, and zero if they lived together at any time during the year. Under §469(c)(7), a taxpayer is a real estate professional only if more than one-half of the personal services the taxpayer performs in trades or businesses during the year are performed in real property trades or businesses in which the taxpayer materially participates, and the taxpayer performs more than 750 hours of services during the year in real property trades or businesses in which the taxpayer materially participates (on a joint return, one spouse must meet both tests alone); the rental loss is then nonpassive only if the taxpayer also materially participates in that rental activity, with each rental tested separately unless the election under Treas. Reg. §1.469-9(g) to treat all interests in rental real estate as one activity was made.
What does Form 3115 support cost from a cost segregation provider?
It varies by provider, and the unit matters (per study or per property); on each provider’s own page, read October 22, 2026: ClickDrag Finance: Look-back studies are supported (the rule and its conditions are on our Form 3115 page); preparing the form itself is not a published service. R.E. Cost Seg — Fully Engineered: Form 3115 preparation is an optional add-on at $600 per study. R.E. Cost Seg — Rapid Report: A “Form 3115 CPA Support Package” add-on at $600 per property. Cost Seg Smart: Its pricing page and home page say the report includes the §481(a) catch-up schedule and supporting workpapers when a prior-year lookback applies, and that preparing and signing the form is a separately engaged, separately priced add-on (the price is not published on either page). KBKG — CostSegregation.com: Its page lists a “481a Calc Schedule” among what every report includes; Form 3115 preparation is not stated on the page read. The Form 3115 rule itself, with its conditions, is the same whichever provider prepares the study.
Is a multifamily building 27.5-year or 39-year property?
It depends on the dwelling-unit test for the taxable year. Under IRC §168(e)(2)(A), a building is 27.5-year residential rental property only if 80% or more of its gross rental income for the taxable year is rental income from dwelling units, and under §168(e)(2)(A)(ii) a unit in a hotel, motel or other establishment more than half of whose units are used on a transient basis is not a dwelling unit, so a building rented mostly to short-term guests can be 39-year nonresidential real property instead. Whichever schedule applies, a cost segregation study moves the qualifying components of the basis into 5-, 7- and 15-year property.
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The qualifier routes you to the right product for your property’s size, or to a person if neither fits.
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