For real estate investors · landlords + flippers

Stop overpaying tax on every door you own.

You have rentals, flips, or both. You hear about cost seg, 1031, and REPS, but your CPA shrugs. We build the strategy, run the depreciation, and keep your portfolio IRS-clean year-round.

What real estate investors get wrong (and what we fix)

Most landlords leave $10K to $60K per property on the table by missing accelerated depreciation, mishandling passive losses, or fumbling a 1031 timeline. We work the IRC the way it was written.

Cost segregation studies

We carve your building into 5, 7, and 15-year property buckets so you front-load depreciation in years 1 to 5 instead of waiting 27.5 or 39 years. A $500K rental can throw off $80K to $120K in first-year deductions when paired with bonus depreciation.

IRC §168(e), §168(k); Rev. Proc. 87-56; HCA v. Commissioner

§1031 like-kind exchanges

45-day ID window. 180-day close. Qualified intermediary required. We map the chain, vet the QI, and keep boot off your return so the entire gain defers. One sloppy email kills the deferral. We don't send sloppy emails.

IRC §1031; Treas. Reg. §1.1031(k)-1

Passive activity loss planning §469

Rental losses are passive by default and capped against passive income. We document grouping elections, $25K active-participation allowance (phases out $100K to $150K MAGI), and stack losses so they actually offset something instead of suspending forever.

IRC §469(c)(2), §469(i); Treas. Reg. §1.469-9

Real Estate Professional Status (REPS)

The 750-hour rule plus more-than-half-of-personal-services test. Get it right and your rental losses become non-passive and offset W-2 or business income. Get it wrong and the IRS disallows everything. We keep contemporaneous time logs that survive audit.

IRC §469(c)(7); Treas. Reg. §1.469-5T

Depreciation tracking per door

Schedule E line-by-line. Accumulated depreciation. Recapture reserves. We build a per-property fixed asset register so when you sell, you know the §1250 recapture before you sign the contract, not after.

IRC §1250; §168; Form 4562

Flipper vs investor classification

Flippers pay ordinary income + self-employment tax. Investors pay long-term capital gains. The line is intent and hold period. We structure entity, hold period, and activity to defend the position you actually want.

IRC §1221; §1402; Suburban Realty v. US

Real client example

Orlando investor, 6 doors, $1.8M portfolio. We ran cost segregation on three properties acquired in 2023 to 2024 and qualified the spouse for REPS.

$94,300 saved

Federal tax reduction in tax year 2024 vs. their prior CPA's straight-line approach. Audit-ready documentation included.

Free portfolio review → Talk to our office
Call 689-331-5723 · info@zerofusstaxes.com · Real humans pick up.
Disclaimer. This page is general tax information, not advice for your specific situation. Code section references are accurate as of the 2024 tax year and may change. Cost segregation, 1031 exchanges, REPS qualification, and passive activity grouping all require facts-and-circumstances analysis. Savings examples are illustrative and based on actual client outcomes but your results will depend on entity structure, income level, state of residence, and documentation quality. Zero Fuss Taxes is the operating brand. We are not your tax advisor until we sign an engagement letter.