How to become a cost segregation specialist
The knowledge, experience and evidence a cost segregation specialist needs, the routes people take into the work, and how certification differs from a license.
Careers in cost segregation
How to Become a Cost Segregation Specialist
Cost segregation specialists analyze a building’s costs and construction and document which components may qualify for shorter depreciation lives. People come to the work from engineering, construction estimating, appraisal, accounting and real estate. These guides, written and reviewed by practitioners, explain the work, the routes in, and how credentials and training differ.
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What a cost segregation job involves
The day-to-day of cost segregation work: documents, site visits, take-offs, classification memos, reconciliation, reports and review, and what employers ask for.
Career routes into cost segregation
How people from construction, accounting, engineering, appraisal and real estate move into cost segregation: what each brings, what each must learn, and a plan.
Certification vs license in cost segregation
No state licenses cost segregation practice. Here is what a license is, what a certification is, what a training certificate is, and how to judge any credential.
How to evaluate a cost segregation training program
Questions to ask before paying for cost segregation training: what it teaches, who reviews the work, what the certificate means, and what it will not do for you.
Membership vs certification at NBCSS
NBCSS membership is admission to a professional organization. The CCSS credential is a separate, assessed decision. How each works and what each lets you say.
Maintaining professional competence in cost segregation
The rules behind cost segregation change. How practitioners stay current, what a competence record should contain, and how NBCSS's maintenance requirement works.
Cost segregation glossary: 60 terms defined
Plain definitions of the terms used in cost segregation and rental depreciation, from basis and bonus depreciation to recapture and unit of property, with sources.
The NBCSS Pathway
- Membership. Experienced practitioners apply as Professional Members with proof of practice. Professionals learning the discipline apply as Practitioner Candidates, a membership that includes the member-only Practitioner Program. Compare the ways to join.
- Published standards. The body of knowledge and the certification scheme are public. Read the standards.
- The CCSS credential. A separate, assessed decision for eligible members: a timed exam, a practical exercise, an oral defense and a human decision. Payment, membership and course completion never award it. How certification works.
More for People Entering the Field
- Who does what: preparer roles in a cost segregation study
- Land and building allocation
- How to read a depreciation schedule
- How reconciliation reveals errors in a cost segregation study
- The history of cost segregation
- Construction cost support in a cost segregation study
- Acquisition date vs placed-in-service date
Already practicing?
Apply as a Professional Member to be listed where property owners, CPAs and firms look for cost segregation specialists. Applications are reviewed by people, and you are charged only if you are approved.