LAB26-04. Maximizing Tax Real Estate Savings Across the Ownership Lifecycle, presented by CSA Partners

The IRS's $696 billion annual tax gap has a new enforcement weapon: Agentforce, an AI engine deployed across the IRS in late 2025 that autonomously reads case files, identifies inconsistencies, and routes examinations, with 126 active use cases and 98% of Chief Counsel activity now automated. For CPAs advising real estate clients, this fundamentally changes the risk calculus around depreciation deductions, pass-through losses, and basis reporting, particularly for clients utilizing cost segregation studies and 1245 Exchange (1245X) analyses.
This session gives CPAs a practical, compliance-first framework for maximizing real estate tax savings through cost segregation and 1245X strategies, while building the documentation trail that holds up under AI-assisted audit scrutiny. You'll leave with a clear understanding of how to implement these tools defensibly across every stage of the ownership cycle, from acquisition through disposition.

Learning Objectives:

• The 1245 Exchange (1245X): a disposition-stage strategy that works in tandem with cost segregation to reclassify §1245 recapture exposure from ordinary income rates (~37%) to capital gains treatment (~20%), and how to substantiate FMV with qualified appraisal or engineering evidence to support it
• How to establish and document a defensible Land-to-Building Ratio (LBR) at acquisition, the foundation of every cost segregation study and the first data point IRS AI checks on examination
• Cost segregation quality standards: why engineering-based studies using actual cost records or RS Means carry the highest IRS credibility rating, and what rule-of-thumb or software-only approaches get flagged