I bought years ago. Is it too late?

Transcript

Hi there. Today, we're talking about lookback studies. Many short-term rental hosts have been hosting for ten years or more. Some, for just three. And we keep getting the same question. Does cost seg still work for me? The answer is yes. Let's take a look at how it works.

A lookback study reaches back to the year you bought, and moves the bonus depreciation you missed onto this year's return.

How much you can catch up depends on when you bought. In 2017, 100% bonus depreciation became law, encouraging real estate investing and home sharing. From 2023, it stepped down to 80, 60, then 40%. And in July 2025, 100% became permanent, for property bought after January 19th.

Say you bought a $500,000 short-term rental in 2020, when bonus depreciation was 100%. With standard depreciation, you've taken about $10,000 a year. With a lookback, you could take $156,000.

If you earn $300,000, file jointly, and your rental qualifies, that's about $33,000 more back in federal tax.

And the numbers change with your home's price, and the year you bought it.

The best part? You don't amend old returns. Your CPA files one form with this year's return. Is it hard? No. Just share your address, purchase date, first rented date, and listing link. Is it worth it? We'll tell you, first. Run your numbers with our lookback calculator.

Then our engine gets to work. We pull your property records, run our algorithm, build a 3D model of your home, and classify every component. The result: an engineer-reviewed study, ready for your CPA.

Visit unlevered.io. Cost seg, made simple.