The short-term-rental tax rules — material participation, bonus depreciation, the so-called STR loophole — reward getting the details right. These are the CPAs and cost-segregation firms investors actually name.
Two kinds of firm live here: CPAs who plan and file around STR-specific strategy, and engineering-based cost-segregation firms that accelerate depreciation on a property so more of it can be written off sooner. Plenty of investors use one of each. None of this is advice you should act on from a directory — it is a shortlist of who to call.
A CPA firm and education brand focused on real-estate investors, well known for teaching the short-term-rental tax strategy.
Cavmir take: An investor-focused firm with a heavy education arm — expect a structured planning engagement, not a quick one-off return.
Visit Hall CPA (The Real Estate CPA) →A proactive tax-planning firm for real-estate investors, run by the CPAs who wrote BiggerPockets' best-selling tax-strategy books.
Cavmir take: Their reputation is built on high-touch strategic planning, which usually means a premium engagement — not the cheapest place to just file a return.
Visit Keystone CPA →A large, engineering-based tax firm providing cost-segregation studies and related incentives, working alongside your existing CPA.
Cavmir take: A services and incentives firm that partners with your CPA rather than replacing it — it does the study and hands the numbers back to your preparer.
Visit KBKG →A cost-segregation firm popular with the STR and BiggerPockets investor crowd, offering both fast and fully engineered studies.
Cavmir take: The low-cost Rapid Report is questionnaire-based, not a full engineered study — fine for smaller homes, but confirm which tier you need for audit defense on larger properties.
Visit R.E. Cost Seg →A long-running, nationwide engineering-based cost-segregation firm serving both commercial and residential property owners.
Cavmir take: Because they often reach you through your accountant, get the scope and pricing in writing directly before you commit.
Visit CSSI — Cost Segregation Services →Cavmir is a marketing agency, not an accounting or tax-advisory firm, and nothing here is tax advice. The short-term-rental tax rules are fact-specific and change — talk to a licensed CPA about your own situation before making any decision.
Two different trades share this page, and the hiring test differs for each. A CPA is a standing relationship — someone who plans your year, not just files it. A cost-segregation firm is usually a project engagement that works alongside the CPA you already have. Here is how operators separate the specialists from the generalists wearing a specialist's hat.
Ask how many short-term-rental clients the firm actually serves, and listen for specifics rather than confidence. Ask them to walk you through the material-participation tests — the hour thresholds and the contemporaneous log you would need to keep — before year end, when it can still change your behavior. Ask what the engagement covers: proactive planning with scheduled check-ins, or preparation only. Ask who does the work day to day, the partner you met or a seasonal pool. And if a cost-seg study is on the table, ask how the two firms will coordinate, because the study is only useful once it lands correctly on your return.
Anyone who promises a refund figure before seeing your facts. Anyone pitching that the STR strategy works for everyone — it is genuinely fact-specific, and the hours tests are real. A firm that will not put scope and fees in writing. A cost-seg provider that gets vague when you ask about audit defense and who stands behind the study. And any advisor, anywhere, who suggests rounding up your participation hours — the log is the whole game if the return is ever questioned.
The classic case: meaningful W-2 or business income, a newly acquired short-term rental, and self-management — that is when the planning conversation pays for itself, and it pays best before December, not in April. Scaling into several properties, entities, or states is the second trigger. For cost segregation specifically, the math gets interesting as the building's value grows; on a modest property, ask whether a lower-cost study tier fits before commissioning the full engineered version. If none of that describes you, a sharp general CPA may be all you need this year — an honest specialist will tell you exactly that.
The rules are real; the nickname oversells them. Short-term rentals with average stays of seven days or less are not automatically passive activities, so owners who materially participate can, in the right circumstances, use rental losses against other income. Whether that works for you depends on your hours, your documentation, and your facts — which is exactly the conversation to have with a licensed CPA before year end, not after.
It varies with the property and the rigor. Questionnaire-based rapid reports for smaller homes cost much less than fully engineered studies — KBKG even offers self-guided software from $495 — while engineered studies on larger properties are custom-quoted. Ask which tier your property honestly needs, what audit support is included, and get both in writing before you commit.
We can tell you who tends to fit which investor profile — that is what the directory cards do — but we are a marketing agency, not a tax advisor, and we take no commission from anyone listed here. The hiring decision belongs to you and the licensed professional who can actually see your return.
Cavmir is a marketing agency. These answers are orientation, not tax advice — take the specifics to a licensed CPA who can see your whole picture.
We will leave the depreciation schedules to the firms above. If the other side of the ledger — bookings and revenue — is what needs work, that part is us.
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