Typical Acceleration by Property Type
Engineered Tax Services' published ranges from their study data, linked to our guide for each building type.
| Property type | Typical acceleration | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Apartment Buildings | 20-40% | Read |
| Assisted Living | 22-45% | Read |
| Auto Dealerships | 29-35% | Read |
| Banks | 30-45% | Read |
| Car Washes | 75-100% | Read |
| Conference Centers | 25-35% | Read |
| Fitness Centers | 22-45% | Read |
| Gas Stations | 50-100% | Read |
| Golf Courses | 28-60% | Read |
| Grocery Stores | 20-45% | Read |
| Hospitals | 25-45% | Read |
| Hotels & Resorts | 22-45% | Read |
| Manufacturing | 18-60% | Read |
| Medical Offices / Clinics | 30-55% | Read |
| Mixed-Use Buildings | 22-35% | Read |
| Mobile Home Parks | 60-100% | Read |
| Office Buildings | 20-40% | Read |
| Research Facilities | 20-30% | Read |
| Restaurants | 25-45% | Read |
| Retail Strip Malls | 20-40% | Read |
| Self-Storage Facilities | 18-90% | Read |
| Theme Parks | 30-68% | Read |
| Vacation Rentals | 25-45% | Read |
| Warehouses | 20-30% | Read |
Ranges are Engineered Tax Services' published typical figures, shown as the share of depreciable basis moved to 5-, 7-, and 15-year lives. Your property's result depends on construction, land allocation, and the engineering takeoff.
How to Read the Ranges
Three patterns explain almost the whole table.
Site-dominant properties top the table. Mobile home parks, gas stations, car washes, and drive-up self-storage are mostly 15-year land improvements (paving, pads, utility infrastructure, fencing) with little long-life building, so 60% and up is normal. Gas stations add a statutory gift: a qualifying retail motor fuels outlet building is itself 15-year property.
Equipment-dense buildings fill the middle. Medical offices, restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, and banks carry heavy 5-year pools (clinical systems, kitchens, FF&E, refrigeration, security equipment) inside conventional structures, landing them in the 25-55% band.
Plain shells sit at the bottom, honestly. Warehouses and research facilities reclassify 20-30% because most of their cost is structure (or building-serving lab air). At industrial scale the absolute dollars still justify studies; the percentage just will not flatter anyone.
Usability is. A deduction that suspends as a passive loss helps eventually; the same deduction timed into a year with REPS, a qualifying short-term rental, material participation, or a big gain helps now. Every guide below pairs the property analysis with the strategies that make the loss land, and the full mechanics live in our complete cost segregation guide.
Every guide covers the same ground for its building type: which components move to 5- and 15-year lives and why, a worked dollar example with 100% bonus depreciation, a hypothetical case study, the other tax strategies that fit that owner (entity structure, monthly accounting, QIP, energy deductions), and how the study gets done. The engineering runs through Engineered Tax Services, and Taxstra implements the results on the return, including Form 3115 look-back studies for property you already own.
Apartment Buildings
20-40% typical
Assisted Living
22-45% typical
Auto Dealerships
29-35% typical
Banks
30-45% typical
Car Washes
75-100% typical
Conference Centers
25-35% typical
Fitness Centers
22-45% typical
Gas Stations
50-100% typical
Golf Courses
28-60% typical
Grocery Stores
20-45% typical
Hospitals
25-45% typical
Hotels & Resorts
22-45% typical
Manufacturing
18-60% typical
Medical Offices / Clinics
30-55% typical
Mixed-Use Buildings
22-35% typical
Mobile Home Parks
60-100% typical
Office Buildings
20-40% typical
Research Facilities
20-30% typical
Restaurants
25-45% typical
Retail Strip Malls
20-40% typical
Self-Storage Facilities
18-90% typical
Theme Parks
30-68% typical
Vacation Rentals
25-45% typical
Warehouses
20-30% typical
Estimate Your Savings
Run your property through the ETS calculator, then pressure-test the number with a CPA.
Estimate Your Cost Segregation Savings
Run your property through the Engineered Tax Services savings calculator for a quick estimate, then have Taxstra pressure-test the number against your full tax picture.
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Calculator provided by Engineered Tax Services. Estimates are educational only and depend on an engineering-based study of your specific property; results are not individualized tax advice.
Disclosure: Taxstra may receive a referral fee if you engage Engineered Tax Services through links on this page. That relationship does not change your price, and it is not a recommendation for your specific situation.
See What a Study Could Do for Your Property
Engineered Tax Services performs the engineering-based study. Taxstra turns the report into actual tax savings on your return and coordinates the strategy around it. Start with their calculator or real case studies.
Want proof first? See real client case studies from ETS with the numbers behind each study.
Disclosure: Taxstra may receive a referral fee if you engage Engineered Tax Services through links on this page. That relationship does not change your price, and it is not a recommendation for your specific situation.