Pro Tax Planning Tips For Physicians

You closed on a rental last spring. A colleague in the physicians’ lounge mentioned “cost seg,” you Googled it, and now you have two quotes on your desk. One is from an engineering firm. The other is from a website that promises a cost segregation study in five minutes, at a small fraction of the engineering quote. Same words on the invoice. Very different products. This guide covers what a cost segregation study is, what the IRS says about who can prepare one, and what drives the price. Then...

A CPA is a license; tax strategist is a job title. Learn what each does, when physician tax planning pays off, and what to ask before hiring.

The short-term rental tax loophole can let physicians use rental losses against active income without real estate professional status—but only if the average-stay, material-participation, and deduction-limit rules all line up. This 2026 guide explains the tests, bonus depreciation, personal-use limits, state differences, and recapture.

Personal-use days can quietly cap rental property deductions. Learn the 14-day rule, fair-rental requirements, repair-day exceptions, proration, and recordkeeping strategies for physicians.

The cost segregation study did what it promised. You took a large deduction in year one and the return looked great. What went unsaid is that part of that deduction was borrowed against a future year. Depreciation recapture is the repayment. It arrives the year you sell, and for physicians it usually arrives in a high income year. That's the worst possible timing. It's the item we get asked about least before a purchase and most after a closing. It's also the part of the short term rental tax...

How physicians clear the 100 hour material participation test on a short term rental, which hours count, and how to document them so they hold up.