Stop quoting $60,000 projects. Start showing owners the deduction in their building.

Is there a first-year deduction sitting in the building you bid? A cost segregation study looks for it. That deduction is what the owner weighs against the price of the project. Show the owner that number and the conversation stops being about price. You become the roofer who found them the deduction.

The Number Next to Your Bid

The roof is never the deduction. A cost segregation study on the building is, and the first-year deduction it finds is the number the owner weighs against the price of the roof. Here is how it looks across the three kinds of property you bid.

STR and LTR first-year deductions come from actual cost segregation runs. Study fees run from a value study (from $1,295) to a fully engineered study (up to $12,095 on large commercial); residential prices are firm, commercial figures firm up as we finalize the schedule. Roof costs are examples. Whether a deduction can be used the same year turns on the passive loss rules: passive income, real-estate-professional status, or, for a short-term rental, average stay and material participation. The owner's CPA applies the tests.

How the deduction is built: a study reclassifies part of the building into fast depreciation, and 100% bonus depreciation deducts it in year one.

Show the Owner Their Number in 30 Seconds

Enter the property and get a preliminary year-one estimate on the spot. This is the number the owner weighs against the price of the project.

How the Program Works

You stay in your lane, which is roofing. The free training gives you the plain-English pitch, and the toolkit gives you the owner one-pager, the estimate request, and the leave-behind FAQ.

The Deal, Start to Finish

Here is how a job plays out, and when the money changes hands. You get paid for the roof the same as always. The difference is the owner's CPA takes the first-year deduction on the return it files.

1. 1
   Day one

   You close the client

   You show the owner their number and close the roof plus a cost segregation study on the building.
2. 2
   Week 1

   We set up the study

   Basis and the licensed engineers open the study and pull the building's data. You do nothing here.

   Owner pays the study fee: $3,000 to $15,000
3. 3
   Weeks 1–4

   You start the work

   You install the roof and invoice the job, the same as any other.

   Owner pays you for the roof: $60,000
4. 4
   Weeks 3–5

   The study is delivered

   Engineers hand the finished, IRS-aligned study to the owner's CPA.
5. 5
   At tax filing

   Their CPA files it

   The study goes on the return the CPA files. The CPA decides the year the deduction is claimed.

   First-year deduction in this example: $378,000

Following the commercial example from the table above. Timing is illustrative; turnaround is typically 3–5 weeks, and the deduction is taken on the return the CPA files. STR and LTR deals run the same way at the smaller numbers shown in the table.

Why the Deduction Is Biggest Now 2026 UPDATE

A building's deductions normally dribble out over thirty-nine years, so thin the owner never feels them. Cost segregation and current bonus rules pull the fast components into Year 1. That is the first-year deduction the owner weighs against the project.

Where the Deduction Sits

A study carves the building out of the slow 39-year bucket and into faster ones. The roof project is the moment to look.

A study moves finishes, fixtures, and site work into the fast lanes. The IRS lost Hospital Corporation of America in 1997 and publishes an Audit Techniques Guide for these studies.

Which Property Types Depreciate

• Commercial & industrial: retail, office, warehouse, restaurants, medical.
• Rental & multifamily: apartments, leased buildings held for income.
• Short-term rentals: Airbnb and VRBO properties in vacation markets.
• A primary residence: not depreciable.

This is a program for commercial roofers and roofers who work rental and vacation markets, not residential retail.

Two Studies, Full Protection

We offer a value study and a fully engineered study. So you bring the owner an option at any budget and never lose the job over the fee. You set the price; we meet the owner wherever they want to be.

The guarantees on the engineered study.

Roofer FAQ

Is the roof itself the tax deduction?

No. The deduction comes from a cost segregation study on the whole building, not the roof. The study looks for a first-year deduction, which the owner weighs against the cost of the roof.

Do I need to understand the tax side?

No. You spot the roof and make the introduction. Licensed engineers produce the study and work with the owner's accountant. The free training gives you the plain-English pitch. You never have to answer a tax question.

What does it cost me or my customer?

Nothing to join the program or run the preliminary number. The owner pays for a study only if the estimated deduction clears the bar, and they see that number first. Basis offers options from a value study to a fully engineered one, so you can meet any owner at their budget.

What is in it for me?

You stop competing on price and you close more bids. You show up with something no other roofer brings. Ask us about partner referral terms when you complete the training.

Is this legitimate?

Component depreciation traces to the Service's loss in Hospital Corporation of America v. Commissioner in 1997, and the IRS publishes an Audit Techniques Guide describing precisely how it is performed.

Get the Free Roofer Training

Enter your details and we will e-mail you the training and the done-for-you pitch toolkit: the owner one-pager, the estimate request, and the leave-behind FAQ. It is free. Most roofers finish it in an afternoon and use it on their next bid.

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