Cost Segregation Studies for buildings in the New York City metro area, including New Jersey
Highbridge Studies walks the building, reads every record and traces each figure in the report to its source.
Calls are answered by a preparer, not a sales desk. On the first call, you will hear whether a study is worth the fee.
Cost segregation calculator
Enter the price and land value to see a rough range of first-year depreciation for your building, and the federal tax effect.
A cost segregation firm that walks the building
Cost segregation is the whole of the practice, and each building is worked on as though it were the only one.
Proof behind every number
Each classification carries its authority and its evidence: a requisition line, an invoice, a photograph of a nameplate, a moment in the site visit video. The total reconciles to the depreciable basis to the dollar, so your accountant can follow any figure back to its source.
Every document read, in full
AI tools, under strict guardrails and with human oversight of every word that reaches a report, read and cross-reference the whole record. Nothing is sampled, which is what lets a study this detailed be priced for a single building.
More of the building accounted for
A preparer walks the property from the roof to the cellar and the site outside the walls, and the whole record is read, so items a sampled review passes over are found and documented. Nothing stays in the building account for lack of looking. What that means for your return is for your accountant to decide.
What is asked of you
Very little. The rest is the firm’s work.
From you
- A short call about the building
- Whatever records you have, in any form
- Access for a site visit
From Highbridge Studies
- Reads and organizes every document
- Inspects the building and records the visit
- Classifies every component, with citations
- Reconciles the total to the depreciable basis
- Delivers the report and a fixed-asset schedule
- Answers your accountant’s questions
Records can arrive as a construction file, a closing binder, a folder of invoices or a data room. Where they stop, the study continues from public sources such as Department of Buildings filings. Start to finish is generally a matter of weeks.
The services page covers new construction, renovations and acquisitions, a separate page goes through the main property types, and how a study is prepared follows the work step by step.
Compared with software and national firms
| Subject | Online software, typically | A national firm, typically | Highbridge Studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who you deal with | A website and a questionnaire | A sales contact, then a project team | The preparer who reads the file and walks the building |
| Site visit | Generally none | Varies from firm to firm | Typically in person, and recorded |
| Where the costs come from | Built-in models and cost data | Frequently national cost data | Your building’s own records wherever they exist |
| Support behind each figure | Varies by product | Varies from firm to firm | A document, a photograph or a video timestamp |
Most cost segregation companies serving NYC and New Jersey owners are online tools or national firms. Practices differ from one to the next. This is a general comparison and does not describe any particular company.
Questions
What is a cost segregation study?
It separates the cost of a building into its components and assigns each one to the class of property the tax code puts it in. Components that wear out faster than the structure, such as flooring, fixtures, equipment and site work, generally carry shorter recovery periods. Your accountant applies the finished study to your return.
Is cost segregation legal?
Yes. It uses depreciation rules that are already in the tax code, and the IRS publishes its own guide for reviewing a study. Is cost segregation legal goes through the rules and the sources.
What kinds of buildings does Highbridge study?
Any building held for rental or business use: apartment and mixed-use buildings, retail, office and medical office, hotels, warehouses and industrial property. The page on property types goes through each.
Does a renovated brownstone qualify for cost segregation?
Generally, a building held for rental or business use can be studied, and a gut renovation tends to leave behind exactly the records a study is built from. The page on renovations explains how the work itself is studied. Whether it is worthwhile depends on the building’s basis and on your tax position, which is a question for your accountant.
What does my accountant need from a cost segregation study?
A fixed-asset schedule that can be used as delivered, the citation behind each classification, and someone to call with questions. The page for accountants sets out what is delivered.
Is my building large enough to justify a study?
There is no fixed threshold. It depends on the building’s depreciable basis set against the fee, which is quoted in advance. The calculator gives a rough range, and if the numbers do not support a study, you will hear that on the first call.
Do New York and New Jersey follow the federal depreciation rules?
Not entirely. New York State, New York City and New Jersey generally do not allow the federal first-year write-off, so the same study works out differently on the state return. New York and New Jersey depreciation explains how.