At Corporate Tax Advisors, we’ve always worked with innovative companies and IPX certainly falls in that category. They’ve been doing quite a bit of Research & Development of their own to bring some really impressive technology to market for the benefit of real estate developers and investors.
And we just launched a partnership to leverage their technology and our tax credit expertise in a product we’re offering called “Cost Seg Survey,” which uses “as builts” to get all the data we need together for a cost segregation study.
Our own Heather Fisher has been spearheading the CTA side of the partnership, and we sat down with her to learn more about the partnership and how it can benefit clients seeking to reduce their tax exposure.
Q: Heather, to get us started, what’s your role at CTA and what types of clients do you work with?
I am a Client Services Director. At CTA, our tax credit advisors include accountants, attorneys and engineers that provide the behind the scenes work.
My job is coordinate with them and be our clients’ point of contact for our various services:
Q: IPX is now a partner but let’s rewind. How did they first appear on your radar? How did the relationship unfold?
I first met the IPX team at a conference in New York.
Bringing together the data IPX already obtains for their clients via BIMIT scanning and as-built modeling with other service providers who also use this same data for other business necessities, like Cost Segregation was something IPX was on a mission to do.
On that same note, CTA is always looking for partnerships that bring additional value to our clients. It was a no-brainer that this partnership and the expertise each company brings would be a game changer for the commercial real-estate industry.
Q: Tell us a little bit about the partnership…how would you explain a “Cost Seg Survey” to someone who might not even fully understand what Cost Segregation is?
Cost segregation is a common tax strategy allowing businesses or individuals who have built, bought, or improved any type of income-generating real estate to allocate qualifying costs to other asset categories. Those new categories have shorter depreciation schedules which means that more income can be shielded in the current tax filing.
Reclassified expenses related to these investments can be depreciated more quickly than the standard 39-year period for non-residential real estate, quickly enhancing cash flow and decreasing tax liabilities.
The concept behind the partnership between CTA and IPX is to bring experts from two different fields, who utilize the same information, but up until now have done so separately, together for a faster, streamlined and more affordable all-in-one service.
Q: What does IPX contribute to the partnership?
IPX is a browser-based built intelligence platform that helps owners, AEC professionals and laser scanning professionals share verified building plans, explore 3D, 2D and 1D views, and search inventory and equipment.
Unlike other scanning companies that just produce BIM and CAD files, they are the only ones that produce a secure digital hub for all of your building information. It is this browser-based system that allows our cost segregation consultants to extract the necessary information to more accurately complete the cost segregation study.
Q: What is an “as built?”
An as-built is a set of drawings that are marked up to show what has actually been built vs what was originally designed.
The ones IPX produces are the result of 3D scanning and then their rendering technology, so they’re quite detailed and great for our team to use in our cost segregation reports.
Architectural plans are a guide for future construction. This is about what is actually there and that’s what the IRS cares about for depreciation purposes.
Q: What does CTA bring to the partnership?
Cost Segregation is a vital tax-saving strategy for property owners to accelerate depreciation on personal property and land improvements.
As an established tax credit and incentives firm, CTA brings the engineering knowledge and tax expertise to the relationship.
Q: For CPA partners who have worked with CTA in the past to manage Cost Segregation studies for their clients, how does this new approach differ from other ways of conducting the study?
Our CPA partners can expect simplified coordination. We used to need to schedule two site visits. With IPX providing their scanning, only that visit is required and we receive our data in the cloud.
What isn’t changing is our cost segregation studies still provide the required information for their clients’ tax returns but in even more detail for audit defense.
Q: How does the experience differ for clients?
Building owners also no longer have to search, vet and pay for two separate services, which causes slower turnaround time and lost cash flow.
For the first time ever, they are able to underwrite with precise 3D/2D spatial documentation during due diligence and after acquisition with accelerated depreciation. The same documentation that helps negotiate better terms can immediately be turned into tax benefits after close.
Clients also receive a copy of their digital renderings, which can be quite useful for all types of purposes such as maintenance, training, future improvement planning, etc.
Q: For someone who wants the service, how should they get started?
Simply book a free introductory call with me via my live scheduler on our Cost Segregation page. We’ll talk through the process and make arrangements to get the scan conducted.
Book a Free Cost Segregation Consultation
