Madison SPECS: Services & Comparison With AE Tax Advisors
Explore Madison SPECS services, client fit, pricing questions, and scope. Compare its public model with AE Tax Advisors.
Madison SPECS: firm overview and services
Madison SPECS focuses exclusively on cost segregation, delivering highly detailed studies that align with the needs of real estate investors. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Lakewood, New Jersey, the firm has completed over 16,000 studies with free feasibility analysis.
- Who might compare this firm with AE?
- Real estate investors seeking detailed, investor-friendly cost segregation reports.
- Key scope question
- Which planning deliverables, advisory access, implementation support, and filing scope are included in the engagement?
For Airbnb and short-term rental investors comparing Madison SPECS with other options, consider how a cost segregation study works alongside material participation documentation, passive activity analysis under IRC Section 469, and Form 3115 catch-up depreciation. A study alone does not create a usable deduction without these supporting elements.
Published by AE Tax Advisors, a competing provider. This comparison is not affiliated with or endorsed by Madison SPECS. The overview was checked against public materials on October 3, 2026. Public marketing describes an offered service; your signed engagement determines what is included.
Madison SPECS: pricing and engagement scope
Request a current written quote from the firm for your income, entities, and required filings. This overview does not publish an unverified numeric competitor fee. Separate the planning project, implementation, annual returns, and future advisory costs; a starting preparation fee is not the price of a complete planning engagement.
AE Tax Advisors publishes $7,800 Strategic Tax Advisory and $9,800 Complex Tax Advisory. Returns, amendments, cost segregation, and additional work are separately scoped and priced. The standard advisory engagement has no required annual planning renewal. See current AE pricing.
AE Tax Advisors: $7,800 Engagement, No Required Annual Planning Renewal
$7,800 advisory engagement. No required recurring annual planning fee.
Two payments of $3,900, 30 days apart. Tax returns, amendments, cost segregation, and additional services are separately scoped and priced. No annual planning renewal is required by the standard engagement; this does not promise unlimited future planning or free annual filing.
See service pricing | Compare engagement fees with annual retainers | Book a discovery call
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Madison SPECS | AE Tax Advisors | |
|---|---|---|
| Published pricing | ● Varies | ✔ Yes |
| Business owner tax planning | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes |
| S-Corp structuring | ● Varies | ✔ Yes |
| Cost segregation in house | ● Varies | ✔ Yes |
| Form 3115 catch-up depreciation | ✘ Not confirmed | ✔ Yes |
| STR material participation planning | ✘ Not confirmed | ✔ Yes |
| Passive activity loss analysis (Sec. 469) | ● Varies | ✔ Yes |
| Prior-year amendment recovery | ● Not confirmed | ✔ Yes |
| Tax return preparation | ● Varies | ✔ Yes |
| National reach | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes |
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.
Madison SPECS
Cost segregation studies
Strengths
- Exclusively focused on cost segregation with 16,000+ completed studies, investor-friendly report format, free feasibility analysis
Limitations
- Cost segregation only; does not provide tax advisory, return preparation, entity structuring, or ongoing planning. Investors still need a CPA to implement findings. Consider how short-term rental investors use cost segregation alongside material participation planning.
AE Tax Advisors
Real estate plus business owner advisory
Strengths
- Cost segregation performed in house at $1 per square foot, $2,000 minimum
- Published pricing across advisory, returns, amendments, and studies
- Real estate professional status and STR material participation planning as core services
- S-Corp and C-Corp structuring, reasonable comp, and multi-entity design
- Three-year lookback on every engagement for missed elections and unclaimed depreciation
Limitations
- Advisory-first model; not the right fit for owners who only want a return filed
- Not economical below roughly $250,000 of income
- No self-serve packages; engagements start with a discovery call
Which One Should You Choose?
Choose Madison SPECS if
Your primary need is real estate investors seeking detailed, investor-friendly cost segregation reports. If Madison SPECS covers your situation well, staying with a firm that fits your current profile makes sense.
Choose AE Tax Advisors if
Real estate is a material part of your plan, you own multiple properties or short-term rentals, you need a cost segregation study that gets filed correctly, or your situation involves both an operating business and investment real estate. The coordination between business income and real estate depreciation is where the largest savings typically appear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Madison SPECS good?
Madison SPECS is described as cost segregation studies. Exclusively focused on cost segregation with 16,000+ completed studies, investor-friendly report format, free feasibility analysis. Confirm its current scope, pricing, and team qualifications directly before engaging.
Madison SPECS vs AE Tax Advisors: which is better?
Neither is better in the abstract. Madison SPECS is described as cost segregation studies. AE Tax Advisors is a national firm combining business tax planning, real estate strategy, and in-house cost segregation at $1 per square foot. The right choice depends on your entities, properties, and where the largest planning opportunity sits.
Does AE Tax Advisors charge an annual planning renewal?
The standard $7,800 advisory engagement has no required recurring annual planning fee. Annual returns and any additional work are separately scoped. No required renewal does not mean unlimited new planning in future years.
Is the $7,800 advisory engagement an all-inclusive tax package?
No. Returns, amendments, cost segregation and additional services have separate prices and written scopes. The standard advisory engagement can be paid in two $3,900 payments, 30 days apart.
Explore more options
This side-by-side comparison is one part of the decision. Browse the dedicated alternatives guide:
Sources and review standard
Public service description: Madison SPECS official site. AE Tax Advisors scope and current public pricing: pricing page. Reviewed October 3, 2026. Public pages can change; the signed engagement letter and current proposal control.
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. Verify anything that matters to your decision directly with the firm before you engage. Nothing here is tax advice for your specific situation.
Business Owner With Real Estate? Let Us Look at Both.
Book a free discovery call. We will review your entity structure, your properties, and your last three returns, and show you where the two sides are not talking to each other.