Estimate your deduction

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Learn cost seg in under ten minutes.

Short videos that each answer one question, with the full transcript under every one. Then see what your own house could deduct.

Start the ten-minute pathBrowse every question
  • Every video under four minutes
  • Full transcript on every page
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Ollie, the Learn host
Hi, I’m Ollie. I’ll walk you through how cost seg works, one short video at a time.

The ten-minute path

Five short videos, in the order that answers the most questions.

Is cost seg for me?1.1

What is cost segregation?

A house is more than its walls.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. What cost seg is
  2. How much you can deduct
  3. Who it fits

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.2

What’s in a cost segregation study?

See the study, page by page.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Every system, broken into parts
  2. Landscaping and furniture
  3. Every line sourced

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.3

How do you rebuild my house?

We rebuild it from its own records and photos.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Rebuild the home
  2. Tag every part
  3. Read the remodel

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.6

How do you find the highest supportable deduction?

Compare what the evidence supports.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Run every combination
  2. Build them into the house
  3. Keep the provable winner

Coming soon

Is cost seg for me?1.5

I bought years ago. Is it too late?

Look back at the years you’ve owned it.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. Back to the year you bought
  2. How price and year change it
  3. No amended returns

Coming soon

Every question, one short answer each

Is cost seg for me?

Is cost seg for me?1.1

What is cost segregation?

A house is more than its walls.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. What cost seg is
  2. How much you can deduct
  3. Who it fits

Coming soon

Is cost seg for me?1.2

Why does bonus depreciation matter so much now?

Start with the timing.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. What changed in 2025
  2. What “year one” means
  3. Dates to discuss with your CPA

Coming soon

Is cost seg for me?1.3

Does my short-term rental qualify?

It depends on how you rent it and how you run it.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. Two ways to use rental losses
  2. About 100 hours a year
  3. After year one, a manager

Coming soon

Is cost seg for me?1.4

What about a long-term rental?

Understand how losses are treated.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. Passive rental losses
  2. Real estate professional status
  3. Losses carried into future years

Coming soon

Is cost seg for me?1.5

I bought years ago. Is it too late?

Look back at the years you’ve owned it.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. Back to the year you bought
  2. How price and year change it
  3. No amended returns

Coming soon

Is cost seg for me?1.6

I remodeled. Does that change anything?

Look at what changed.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. Your renovation costs
  2. The parts you replaced
  3. The records that tell the story

Coming soon

Is cost seg for me?1.7

Why does land value change the math?

Separate the land and building.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. How land value is considered
  2. The building’s share of the price
  3. Why the allocation matters

Coming soon

Is cost seg for me?1.8

What’s in the study, and what isn’t?

Know which parts belong.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. Furniture and ownership
  2. Fixtures and appliances
  3. What the study includes

Coming soon

Is cost seg for me?1.9

What happens when I sell?

Plan for the next chapter.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. Depreciation recapture
  2. The idea of a 1031 exchange
  3. Questions for your CPA

Coming soon

Is cost seg for me?1.11

Will a study get me audited?

Understand what supports a study.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. What an examiner looks for
  2. Why records matter
  3. How the evidence is organized

Coming soon

Is cost seg for me?1.12

Can a rental offset RSU or IPO income?

Connect the rental to your situation.

In this video

Know what to ask.

  1. Pay the tax or buy the asset
  2. How the deductions stack up
  3. The tests that make it work

Coming soon

How Unlevered works

How Unlevered works2.1

What is Unlevered?

We build your study; your CPA files your return.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Who the study is for
  2. What Unlevered delivers
  3. How your CPA fits in

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.2

What’s in a cost segregation study?

See the study, page by page.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Every system, broken into parts
  2. Landscaping and furniture
  3. Every line sourced

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.3

How do you rebuild my house?

We rebuild it from its own records and photos.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Rebuild the home
  2. Tag every part
  3. Read the remodel

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.4

How do you measure every part?

Make the quantities visible.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. The idea of a reverse takeoff
  2. Rooms, surfaces and components
  3. How measurements connect

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.5

How do you price every part?

Follow the cost evidence.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Receipts and actual costs
  2. Local pricing sources
  3. Location-adjusted references

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.6

How do you find the highest supportable deduction?

Compare what the evidence supports.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Run every combination
  2. Build them into the house
  3. Keep the provable winner

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.7

Who checks the work?

Follow each review step.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Evidence and proposed positions
  2. Software calculations
  3. Engineering and human review

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.8

Can every number be traced?

Trace every item and cost from model to study.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Select a component in 3D
  2. See its source, area and cost
  3. Follow it into your study

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.9

What is a spatial graph, and why does it matter?

See how the parts of your property connect.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Where each component belongs
  2. How parts connect to each other
  3. Why links help prevent double counting

Coming soon

How Unlevered works2.10

Why is the plant library so detailed?

Different plants need different records.

In this video

See how it works.

  1. Species, size and age
  2. Planted, retained or native in place
  3. Links to location and study costs

Coming soon

Your study, step by step

Your study, step by step3.1

What happens after I request an estimate?

See your path through the study.

In this video

Know what comes next.

  1. Estimate and property details
  2. Engineering and review
  3. Final steps and release

Coming soon

Your study, step by step3.2

What do you need from me?

Gather the story of your property.

In this video

Know what comes next.

  1. Photos, room by room
  2. Property documents
  3. What to do if something is missing

Coming soon

Your study, step by step3.3

How do I bring in my CPA?

Your CPA joins your study when you invite them.

In this video

Know what comes next.

  1. Send the invitation
  2. Review access and timing
  3. The filing handoff

Coming soon

Your study, step by step3.4

What will I receive?

Get to know your deliverables.

In this video

Know what comes next.

  1. The study report
  2. Filing schedules
  3. Files for your CPA

Coming soon

Your study, step by step3.5

How do I read my study?

Take it one section at a time.

In this video

Know what comes next.

  1. Start with the overview
  2. Explore the asset details
  3. Follow the supporting evidence

Coming soon

The House Grows Up With Them · Season 1 · 7 episodes

Our children’s future is why we invest.

Why the Mercers bought a cabin at Sea Ranch, ran cost seg, and then did it again in Marion: one house for each of their two kids.

  1. Episode 1Why we bought a house and ran cost segThe decision, the year, and what the study changed.Coming soon
  2. Episode 2Why we purchased house #2We meant to invest the return. We bought a second house instead, one for each kid.Coming soon
  3. Episode 3Why real estate, why nowAnchoring in something real while the wealth gap widens.Coming soon
  4. Episode 4The town we loveThe wealth we keep is spent sustaining a town: cleaners, contractors, the café.Coming soon
  5. Episode 5The house as a classroomFixing things together, hospitality, and talking about the guests.Coming soon
  6. Episode 6Paid off by collegeOur plan: no mortgage by then, and the house managed for income through college.Coming soon
  7. Episode 7What it becomesA down payment when they are older, or the place we keep for the memories.Coming soon

The family’s plans, in their words. Not tax or investment advice; your situation will differ.

The Mercer family, illustrated

Stories

The Depreciation Diaries

The same ideas, told through real houses and the people who bought them.

All stories
The remodeled Sea Ranch great room — redwoods through the A-frame glass.The ugliest house in Sea RanchHow an IPO, a DJ, and a $550K+ tax bill led me to build a cost segregation platform. The founder origin story, with the tax returns to back it up.A pair of cabins in Sonoma County, the kind of tax-smart vacation home an owner might buy before a liquidity event.A vacation home before the IPOA pre-IPO client owed $900K+ in taxes with a liquidity event looming. Instead of stretching for a first home in San Francisco, we looked at a tax-smart vacation home in Tahoe and Sonoma, and how she reframed the whole purchase around the Where to Invest tool.A loaded rack of bikes, kayaks, and paddleboards at a short-term rental, the adventure gear that helps a listing book more weekends.Adventure gear, funded by cost segBikes, kayaks, and paddleboards that sell the whole trip. What hosts buy with the first-year cash a cost segregation study frees up.

As seen on LinkedIn

The one-pagers owners pass around

Each one has a lesson behind it.

You don’t have to be a real estate professional.

Material participation counts the work you already do to set up and run your short-term rental.

Lesson 1.3: Does my short-term rental qualify?

Apply it to your house

Estimate your deduction.

We build the estimate from the property’s own records.

Estimate your deduction

Take it with you

The Field Guide 2026Cost seg for owners, in one guide.A real sample studyTimber Ridge at Sea Ranch.Lookback calculatorFor a house you bought years ago.

Education, not tax advice. Unlevered is not a CPA firm; your CPA files your return.