# Commercial Cost Seg Reviews

> A commercial cost-segregation market guide organized by property type: what reclassifies,
> modeled result ranges, market pricing, and a fixed-rubric comparison of 22
> providers. Operated by Cost Seg Smart LLC — one of the providers compared — and disclosed as
> such. Competitor facts are sourced from public materials and dated; no reviews or invented
> ratings are used.

## Disclosure
This site is operated by Cost Seg Smart LLC, which is also one of the providers compared. Cost
Seg Smart is evaluated using the same published rubric as every other firm. If another company
scores higher, it ranks higher. No affiliate links, no pay-for-placement.

## How the comparison works
One fixed, evidence-based rubric applied to every firm, with relevant type-specific evidence
weighted most heavily. Weights: Methodology & technical documentation 24%, Relevant property-type evidence 30%, Deliverables 14%, Pricing transparency 10%, Delivery options 7%, Audit-support terms 8%, Turnaround transparency 7%. Only observable, checkable facts are scored;
"report quality", "CPA-acceptance %" and "communication" are deliberately excluded. Full detail: /how-we-compare/

## Provider landscape
- Engineering-first providers (cost seg built around in-house engineers): Cost Seg Smart, RE Cost Seg, Engineered Tax Services (ETS), Source Advisors, CSSI, McGuire Sponsel, Cost Segregation Authority (CSA), Capstan Tax Strategies, Madison SPECS, Duffy+Duffy, Segregation Holding, SegPro Solutions, CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), Cherry Bekaert, CohnReznick.
- National accounting / advisory firms (cost seg as one line in a broad tax practice): Ryan, BDO USA, Baker Tilly, Plante Moran, Andersen, Withum, CBIZ.
A specialized engineering firm can outrank a much larger accounting firm for a given property
type because of dedicated per-type evidence and methodology. Directory: /providers/

## Providers by property type
### Warehouse & distribution
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 10–38%.
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. Source Advisors (8.5); 2. Cost Seg Smart (8.4); 3. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) (8.1); 4. McGuire Sponsel (8.0); 5. RE Cost Seg (7.9).
- Why #1 leads: Large multidisciplinary engineering staff and a dedicated distribution-center practice — the depth that heavy truck-court and dock-equipment analysis rewards.
- Guide: /property-types/warehouse/

### Medical office
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 8–35% (central ~19%).
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. Source Advisors (8.5); 2. Cost Seg Smart (8.4); 3. Cherry Bekaert (8.4); 4. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) (8.1); 5. CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) (8.1).
- Why #1 leads: A dedicated medical-buildings practice and broad engineering depth for clinical MEP; Cherry Bekaert (a licensed-engineer firm with a large medical case study) runs a close third.
- Guide: /property-types/medical-office/

### Self-storage
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 8–38% (central ~23%).
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. Cost Seg Smart (9.0); 2. Source Advisors (8.5); 3. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) (8.1); 4. Capstan Tax Strategies (8.1); 5. RE Cost Seg (7.9).
- Why #1 leads: A dedicated self-storage component model (drive-aisle paving that scales with the lot, roll-up doors as equipment) paired with published pricing and virtual delivery — an edge on a repetitive, well-documented building type.
- Guide: /property-types/self-storage/

### Car wash
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 25–60% (central ~48%).
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. Cost Seg Smart (8.4); 2. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) (8.1); 3. RE Cost Seg (7.9); 4. CSSI (7.9); 5. Baker Tilly (7.6).
- Why #1 leads: A dedicated car-wash library that separates heavy tunnel equipment and site work from the thin §1250 shell, with published pricing — a niche the large national firms barely cover.
- Guide: /property-types/car-wash/

### Restaurant
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 12–42% (central ~21–29%).
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. Cost Seg Smart (9.0); 2. Source Advisors (8.5); 3. Baker Tilly (8.2); 4. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) (8.1); 5. Capstan Tax Strategies (8.1).
- Why #1 leads: Detailed modeling of restaurant FF&E and kitchen systems (exhaust, walk-ins, bar and beverage lines) with published pricing and fast virtual delivery.
- Guide: /property-types/restaurant/

### Retail
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 10–38% (central ~27%).
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. Source Advisors (8.5); 2. Cost Seg Smart (8.4); 3. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) (8.1); 4. Capstan Tax Strategies (8.1); 5. McGuire Sponsel (8.0).
- Why #1 leads: A dedicated retail / shopping-center practice and broad commercial engineering depth across the merchandising and site layers.
- Guide: /property-types/retail/

### Dental office
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 8–35%.
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) (8.1); 2. RE Cost Seg (7.9); 3. CSSI (7.9); 4. Cost Seg Smart (7.8); 5. Segregation Holding (7.6).
- Why #1 leads: Dated, documented dental case studies and a licensed-engineering-firm methodology; a genuine healthcare-fit-out track record.
- Guide: /property-types/dental/

### Veterinary
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 8–38% (central ~22%).
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. RE Cost Seg (9.1); 2. Cost Seg Smart (8.4); 3. Segregation Holding (7.6); 4. Baker Tilly (7.6); 5. Cherry Bekaert (7.2).
- Why #1 leads: The only firm in the comparison with dedicated veterinary cost-seg content, plus published pricing — a clear per-type evidence lead in an otherwise thin field.
- Guide: /property-types/veterinary/

### Gas station & c-store
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 10–38%.
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. Cost Seg Smart (8.4); 2. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) (8.1); 3. RE Cost Seg (7.9); 4. CSSI (7.9); 5. Baker Tilly (7.6).
- Why #1 leads: Dedicated gas-station / c-store modeling (canopy, forecourt paving, dispensers) including the RMFO 15-year analysis, with published pricing.
- Guide: /property-types/gas-station/

### Auto dealership
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 10–35%.
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. Source Advisors (8.5); 2. Cost Seg Smart (8.4); 3. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) (8.1); 4. McGuire Sponsel (8.0); 5. RE Cost Seg (7.9).
- Why #1 leads: A dedicated auto-dealership practice covering both the large display-lot site work and service-department equipment.
- Guide: /property-types/auto-dealership/

### Manufacturing
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 6–38% (central ~14%).
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. Source Advisors (8.5); 2. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) (8.1); 3. McGuire Sponsel (8.0); 4. RE Cost Seg (7.9); 5. CSSI (7.9).
- Why #1 leads: A large multidisciplinary engineering staff and a dedicated manufacturing practice — the area where big national firms genuinely have depth (process power, material handling, specialty MEP).
- Guide: /property-types/manufacturing/

### Fitness & gym
- Modeled accelerated-depreciation range: 10–35%.
- Top providers on our rubric: 1. Source Advisors (8.5); 2. Cost Seg Smart (8.4); 3. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) (8.1); 4. RE Cost Seg (7.9); 5. Baker Tilly (7.6).
- Why #1 leads: Dedicated fitness-center coverage within a broad commercial engineering practice, capturing specialty flooring, amenities and site work.
- Guide: /property-types/fitness/

## Key pages
- /how-we-compare/ — the rubric, weights, and 1–5 anchors
- /providers/ — all 22 firms, engineering-first vs accounting, with profiles
- /pricing/ — market fee bands
- /methodology/ — engineering site-visit vs virtual/modeled vs fixed-fee
- /look-back/ — look-back (catch-up) studies, Form 3115 and the §481(a) adjustment
- /component-reference/ — components by MACRS asset class (Rev. Proc. 87-56)
- /glossary/ — plain-language definitions of the key terms
- /about/ — ownership disclosure and sourcing policy