Signed into law on July 4, 2025, OBBBA brought back full bonus depreciation for qualifying property placed in service after January 19, 2025. The site’s new bonus depreciation FAQ section responds to a flood of questions from investors since this big legislative move, which has quickly become one of the major shifts in real estate tax law in recent memory. Many property owners are still figuring out how the rule change actually affects their portfolios.
OBBBA restores the 100% bonus depreciation rate, which had been on a gradual decline since 2023, dropping to 80% in 2023, 60% in 2024 and reached 40% in 2025 before the law changed. Now, it’s back for good for short-lived assets like flooring, appliances, fencing and land improvements identified in a cost segregation study. The Joint Committee on Taxation’s 2025 numbers show that OBBBA’s depreciation rules will significantly reduce federal revenue over the budget window, underscoring just how much property owners can now save on qualifying investments. For many, what once took years to deduct can now be written off much faster, all in the same year the property is put into service.
The common questions in the FAQ center
The most common questions that come in via BonusDepreciation.com’s FAQ center on which properties really qualify. Investors often ask if a 2025 multifamily building or a 2026 renovation, so long as they’re placed in service after January 19, 2025, qualify for the full deduction. But also whether pieces revealed in a cost segregation study, like carpeting, specialty electrical work or parking lot paving, meet the IRS’s rule that a recovery period be 20 years or less.
Calculation steps are another hot topic. Owners want to know how a cost segregation study splits up a building’s purchase price and how that split turns into a first-year deduction. The FAQ explains the basic process: An engineering study picks out assets that don’t fit the standard 27.5-year or 39-year depreciation schedules. Those “shorter life” assets qualify for 100% depreciation immediately. Depending on the building, cost segregation can move 20% to 40% of the property cost basis into these categories, so when that full deduction hits, it really moves the needle.
State conformity and recapture rules
There’s also plenty of confusion around state conformity, since not all states follow federal depreciation rules. Some states don’t allow depreciation at all, while others have their own tweaks. This means that a state tax break can look very different from federal savings on the same building. The FAQ details these state-by-state differences to help property owners avoid making the mistake of assuming the two will match; potentially saving them from an unpleasant state tax bill, even after a big federal deduction.
Recapture rules round out the last major topic in the resource. When an owner sells property with depreciated components, some deductions might be clawed back, taxed at different rates based on asset type. The FAQ talks through how recapture works with depreciation and taxes, giving owners a chance to plan ahead and implement tax savings instead of getting surprised at sale. There’s also advice on how holding periods and exit strategies influence the final tax picture.
“We’ve seen a flood of questions since the permanent 100% rate kicked in. A lot of owners didn’t even realize just how much the rules had changed,” said a spokesperson for R.E. Cost Seg. “We want to give people clear answers before they sit down with their CPA, so those meetings are productive and they don’t leave money on the table.”
New wave hitting the real estate market
The timing of the new resource comes just as a wave of real estate deals in 2025 and 2026 were set up to take advantage of the renewed deduction. Commercial buyers rushed to close in late 2025, making sure their buildings were placed in service after January 19, while many multifamily syndicators started using the permanent 100% rate as a headline selling point, based on early 2026 industry commentary.
For owners still wondering if a past or upcoming purchase qualifies, the bonus depreciation FAQs are meant to be a starting point, not a replacement for professional tax advice, and guides users toward the right questions to ask their CPA before making big year-end decisions.
About BonusDepreciation.com
BonusDepreciation.com is run by R.E. Cost Seg, which specializes in cost segregation studies and depreciation strategies for real estate investors and property owners across the country. They have delivered more than $1.5B in tax savings and have completed more than 15,000 studies. More information and the full FAQ are available at https://bonusdepreciation.com.
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