Real Estate CPA and Tax Advisor for Investors

Who we work with

A real estate accountant for the way you invest

The tax questions change with the strategy. These are the investors we work with most, and what usually needs attention first.

How to choose

Choosing a CPA for real estate investors: what a generalist preparer will not do

A real estate CPA is a tax accountant who works from the property and entity records forward: depreciation schedules, participation logs, basis, suspended losses, and state filings, not a once-a-year Schedule E form-fill.

• Ask how they document material participation and REPS hours
• Ask who models a cost segregation study before it is purchased, and whether the loss can be used
• Ask how many state returns they file for investor clients each year
• Ask whether they will speak with your lender, attorney, and property manager during a transaction
• Ask for the depreciation schedule review on your first return, not the third

Services and fees

Real estate tax advisor services and how fees work

Taxstra prepares investor returns, runs year-round real estate tax planning, and keeps property-level books. Fees are quoted after a free initial consultation, based on the scope we agree on. Property count, entities, states, and transactions move the fee.

• Federal and state investor returns, including Schedule E, partnership returns, and K-1s
• Year-round real estate tax planning and projections
• REPS and short-term rental qualification and loss modeling
• Cost segregation modeling, with Engineered Tax Services performing the study
• 1031 and DST exchange modeling alongside your qualified intermediary
• Monthly real estate bookkeeping in QuickBooks Online

Go deeper: how much a CPA costs

Portfolio before tactic

A real estate tax system starts with basis, books, activity, and ownership

The right strategy depends on what is owned, who owns it, how it operates, where it sits, and whether a tax attribute can actually be used.

Compliance foundation

Schedule E, depreciation, and property-level books

Property-level income, operating costs, capital improvements, debt, escrow, owner activity, and deposits must reconcile before a return can support planning. Repairs and improvements, placed-in-service dates, land allocation, and prior depreciation require documented treatment.

• Separate reporting by property and entity
• Reconcile debt, escrow, deposits, and closing statements
• Maintain tax and book fixed-asset schedules
• Track capital improvements separately from repairs
• Carry suspended losses and basis by activity and owner
• Preserve acquisition and disposition documentation

Go deeper: Schedule E guide · real estate bookkeeping · rental depreciation calculator

Losses require a path to use

Material participation, REPS, short-term rentals, and loss limitations

Classification and participation determine whether a paper loss changes current tax; basis, at-risk, and other limitations can still apply.

Real estate professional status

REPS: when long-term rental losses can offset other income

Real estate professional status lets rental losses be nonpassive when one spouse spends more than 750 hours and more than half of their working time in real property businesses, and also materially participates in the rentals.

• One spouse has to pass the 750-hour and more-than-half tests alone. Joint filers cannot add their hours together for those two tests.
• Hours as an employee count only if you own more than 5% of the employer, so a full-time W-2 job usually rules REPS out.
• Material participation is tested per rental unless you make the election to treat all rentals as one activity.
• The status is tested every year, so the time log matters every year.

Go deeper: REPS guide · passive-activity loss rules

Short-term rentals

The STR loophole for W-2 earners

A short-term rental with an average stay of seven days or less is not a rental activity under the passive-loss rules. If you materially participate, a loss from it can offset W-2 income without REPS.

The most common path is more than 100 hours of your own work on the property and more than anyone else, including cleaners and co-hosts. Pair that with a cost segregation study and 100% bonus depreciation on qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025, and the first-year loss can be large. We check qualification first, then model the deduction, then apply the basis, at-risk, and excess-business-loss limits.

Go deeper: STR loophole guide · free STR eligibility check (self-service tool) · short-term rental CPA services

Ownership creates reporting

Entity structure, partnerships, K-1s, and syndications

Entity charts should show legal owner, tax classification, property, debt, management activity, state registrations, books, bank accounts, and return responsibility. Partnerships add allocations, capital, basis, debt shares, distributions, and partner reporting.

Most rentals do not belong in an S corporation, and a single-member LLC usually changes liability, not federal tax. The structure question is about lenders, partners, state fees, and how you will exit, so we settle it with your attorney before the deed is recorded.

Go deeper: LLC for rental property · real estate syndication taxes · K-1 vs. 1099

Plan before signing

Acquisitions, dispositions, 1031 and DST exchanges, and recapture

Review purchase-price allocation, intended use, repairs and improvements, ownership, financing, and placed-in-service timing during acquisition. Before a sale, model gain, depreciation recapture, suspended losses, state tax, installment treatment where applicable, and exchange constraints.

A Delaware statutory trust (DST) is a common 1031 replacement for investors who want out of active management. A properly structured DST interest counts as like-kind real estate, so it can absorb leftover proceeds or rescue an exchange when a building purchase falls through. We model the deferral and the debt you need to replace; picking the offering belongs with a licensed securities professional.

• Review the contract and closing structure before execution
• Model sell, hold, installment, and exchange alternatives where relevant
• Coordinate a Section 1031 exchange with a qualified intermediary before closing
• Track replacement-property basis and deferred gain
• Address partner-level and state consequences separately
• Do not describe deferral as elimination

Go deeper: 1031 exchange guide · 1031 exchange into a Delaware statutory trust · capital gains tax guide · installment sale tax guide

Acceleration, not free money

Cost segregation: when it pays and how we coordinate the study

A cost segregation study changes the timing and character of depreciation. The analysis should show the federal and state effect, loss usability, expected hold period, recapture exposure, and study fee under multiple scenarios.

Taxstra runs the tax math: whether the loss is usable under REPS or the short-term rental rules, the bonus depreciation result, state conformity, and recapture on a later sale. Engineered Tax Services, our engineering partner, performs the study itself. We then put the result on the return, including Form 3115 when a catch-up on a property you already own is needed.

Go deeper: 2026 year-end tax planning · cost seg fit checklist · cost segregation guide · cost segregation estimator · single-rental cost segregation analysis

Monthly books

Real estate bookkeeping for investors

Clean property-level books are what make depreciation, REPS logs, cost segregation, and a later sale defensible. Monthly fees are quoted after a free initial consultation, based on the scope we agree on.

We reconcile each property and entity monthly in QuickBooks Online, tie out loans, escrow, and security deposits, and keep capital improvements separate from repairs so the fixed-asset schedule is right at tax time.

Go deeper: real estate bookkeeping services

Scale the operating system

Multi-state filings, bookkeeping, acquisitions, and portfolio oversight

Go deeper: multi-state tax planning