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In order to better understand the tax controversy surrounding the use of cost segregation studies, it is important to review the relevant legal history and the motivations of taxpayers to allocate costs to personal property. The legislative and judicial history of depreciation, depreciation recapture, and Investment Tax Credit (ITC) are closely related. Accordingly, much of the discussion will focus on the rules and decisions impacting several interrelated Code sections (including ITC that was generally terminated in 1986). By establishing a legal framework for § 1245 and § 1250 property, examiners will have a better understanding of this issue and have a basis for determining property classifications and cost allocations. The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) has historically authorized depreciation as an allowance for the exhaustion, wear and tear, and obsolescence of property used in a trade or business or for the production of income (IRC § 167 and the regulations thereunder). Several different methods are described for calculating depreciation under IRC §§ 167 and 168, including straight line, declining balance, sum-of-the-years digits, and income forecast. The deduction has generally been calculated with respect to the adjusted basis and useful life of (or recovery period for) the property and by utilizing an appropriate depreciation method. At one time, salvage value was also a factor in the computation. The shorter the useful life (or recovery period), the larger the current tax deduction, thus providing an incentive for tax purposes. Buildings and structural components have substantially longer depreciable lives than personal property. Therefore, it is desirable for taxpayers to maximize personal property costs in order to accelerate depreciation deductions and, hence, reduce tax liability.
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