CSSI vs AE Tax Advisors Cost Segregation
CSSI has completed tens of thousands of engineering-based studies and works closely with CPA firms. AE Tax Advisors performs the study and files the return. Here is how to decide which model you need.
The short version
CSSI is a high-volume, engineering-based cost segregation provider that works alongside your CPA. AE Tax Advisors is the CPA and the cost segregation provider at once.
Cost Segregation Services, Inc. is one of the highest-volume providers in the industry, with a long track record of engineering-based studies across property types and a business model built around working through accounting firms and referral partners. If you already have a tax advisor you trust and you simply need a defensible study, CSSI is a credible provider.
AE Tax Advisors performs studies in house at $1 per square foot with a $2,000 minimum, and then does the part that actually reduces your tax bill: the passive activity analysis, the Form 3115 for properties held more than a year, the amended returns where prior years were missed, and the current-year filing.
The honest question is not which study is better. It is whether the study will get implemented correctly once it arrives.
Who CSSI is
CSSI, based in Louisiana with representatives across the country, has performed a very large number of cost segregation studies—tens of thousands by the company's own accounting—across residential rental, commercial, retail, restaurant, and industrial property. The studies are engineering-based rather than rule-of-thumb, which is the methodology the IRS Audit Techniques Guide favors.
The firm's distribution model runs heavily through CPA firms and financial professionals who refer clients in. That gives CSSI enormous exposure to a wide variety of property types and a process that is standardized and repeatable.
What CSSI does not do is prepare your tax return, tell you whether the resulting loss is deductible this year, or file the Form 3115 that a look-back study requires. Those responsibilities sit with your accountant.
Who AE Tax Advisors is on cost segregation
We are a tax advisory and preparation firm that performs its own cost segregation studies. The deliverable follows the same engineering-based approach: site data and construction documents are analyzed, components are allocated into 5-year, 7-year, and 15-year MACRS classes, land improvements are separated, and the remaining structural basis is identified on a 27.5-year or 39-year life depending on whether the property is residential rental or nonresidential.
Where the engagement differs is sequence. We analyze usability first. Under Section 469, rental losses are presumptively passive, and a large first-year deduction that gets suspended does nothing for your current-year tax bill. Real estate professional status under Section 469(c)(7), the short-term rental exception for average stays of seven days or less, or the presence of offsetting passive income are what make the deduction real. We confirm one of those applies before running the study.
Then we implement: Form 3115 with the Section 481(a) catch-up adjustment for older properties, amended returns at $2,500 each where a prior year was missed, and the current return prepared by the same team.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| CSSI | AE Tax Advisors | |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering-based study | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes |
| Pricing model | Quoted per property | $1/sq ft, $2,000 min |
| Free preliminary estimate | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes |
| Works with your existing CPA | ✔ Yes | ● Partial |
| Tax return preparation | ✘ No | ✔ Yes |
| Form 3115 prepared and filed | ✘ No | ✔ Yes |
| Section 469 usability analysis first | ✘ No | ✔ Yes |
| Real estate professional status planning | ✘ No | ✔ Yes |
| Short-term rental material participation | ✘ No | ✔ Yes |
| Prior-year amendment recovery | ✘ No | ✔ Yes |
| Entity structuring | ✘ No | ✔ Yes |
| Year-round advisory | ✘ No | ✔ Yes |
| Audit support for the study | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes |
| Volume of studies completed | Very high | Boutique |
Pros and Cons of Each
Every firm has a profile it serves well and a profile it does not. Here is an honest read on both.
CSSI
High-volume engineering-based cost seg provider
Strengths
- Very large volume of completed studies across many property types
- Engineering-based methodology consistent with the IRS Audit Techniques Guide
- Long operating history and an established national footprint
- Works smoothly with your existing CPA, which suits investors who like their accountant
- Free preliminary analysis is typically available before you commit
Limitations
- Study only—no return preparation, no ongoing advisory
- Pricing is quoted per property rather than published
- Does not file the Form 3115 that a look-back study requires
- No one in the engagement verifies the loss is usable under Section 469
- Value depends heavily on your CPA implementing it correctly
AE Tax Advisors / Stratum
Cost seg plus full tax implementation
Strengths
- $1 per square foot with a $2,000 minimum, published up front
- Usability analysis before the study, so you do not pay for a suspended loss
- Form 3115 and Section 481(a) catch-up prepared and filed in house
- Prior-year amendments at $2,500 each to recover missed depreciation
- One team owns the outcome from study through filed return
Limitations
- Boutique scale rather than tens of thousands of studies
- Best value inside an advisory relationship rather than as a one-off purchase
- Not built for very large industrial or institutional portfolios
- If you love your current CPA, our model asks you to move the return as well
- No standalone referral program for outside accounting firms at scale
Which One Should You Choose?
Choose CSSI if
You have a tax advisor you trust who is genuinely comfortable with Form 3115, Section 481(a), and the passive activity rules, and you want to keep that relationship. In that case you are buying an engineering deliverable and CSSI produces a solid one.
Choose AE Tax Advisors if
You want the study and the filing under one roof, you are not certain your current preparer will implement it correctly, or you want to know before you spend anything whether the deduction will actually be usable this year.
A caution worth repeating
The most common expensive mistake in cost segregation is a correct study that is never paired with a Form 3115. The catch-up depreciation on a property you have owned for three years is frequently the single largest number in the whole plan, and it does not appear on the return by itself.
Why Clients Choose AE Tax Advisors
- We check usability before you spend a dollar. Section 469 decides whether your accelerated depreciation offsets income this year or sits suspended. That analysis is free and it happens first.
- $1 per square foot, published. No quote process, no negotiation, no per-property surprise. A $2,000 minimum applies.
- Form 3115 is part of the job. For any property held longer than one tax year, we prepare the change in accounting method and the Section 481(a) adjustment that turns years of missed depreciation into a current-year deduction.
- We look back three years on intake. Properties bought in 2023 or 2024 with no study are the single most common source of recoverable money we find, and amendments are $2,500 each.
- The study serves a plan. Depreciation interacts with entity choice, reasonable compensation, retirement plan contributions, and your eventual disposition and recapture exposure. Those are decided together or they are decided badly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CSSI a good cost segregation company?
Yes. CSSI is one of the highest-volume engineering-based cost segregation providers in the country with a long track record and a national footprint. It is a credible choice when you need a study and already have a tax advisor to implement it.
How much does CSSI charge for a cost segregation study?
CSSI quotes per property based on type, size, and complexity rather than publishing a rate, and offers a free preliminary analysis first. AE Tax Advisors publishes its pricing at $1 per square foot with a $2,000 minimum.
Does CSSI file Form 3115?
No. CSSI produces the engineering study; the Form 3115 change in accounting method required to claim catch-up depreciation on a property held more than one tax year is prepared by your tax preparer. AE Tax Advisors prepares and files it as part of the engagement.
CSSI vs AE Tax Advisors: which is better for a short-term rental?
For a typical short-term rental, AE Tax Advisors is usually the better economics and the better fit. The plan depends on the seven-day average stay test and material participation under Section 469, which is tax analysis rather than engineering, and $1 per square foot on a 2,500 square foot property is $2,500.
Can I get a cost segregation study without changing accountants?
Yes. We perform standalone studies. We are simply candid that the study delivers less than half its value if the Form 3115 and passive activity analysis are not handled well, so we ask about your preparer's comfort with those before we take the engagement.
How long does a cost segregation study take?
Industry turnaround is commonly two to six weeks depending on the provider's queue and how quickly documents arrive. Our studies typically turn around in days because the engineering analysis and the tax work happen in the same team.
What documents do I need for a cost segregation study?
At minimum: the closing statement, the purchase price allocation, the property's square footage, the year placed in service, and any improvement or renovation records. Photos, appraisals, inspection reports, and construction documents improve accuracy. We send a short checklist after the discovery call.
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Disclosure: this page is published by AE Tax Advisors, so we are not a neutral party. We have tried to describe the other firm accurately and fairly using their own public materials, and we say plainly where they are the better fit. Firm details, service menus, and pricing change—verify anything that matters to your decision directly with the firm before you engage. Nothing here is tax advice for your specific situation.
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