REPSLog publishes two free calculators on the website, separate from the app, so you can see roughly what a tax strategy is worth before you talk to your CPA. This article explains what each one estimates, where to find them, and how they relate to your REPSLog hour log.
STR Tax Savings Calculator
The STR Tax Savings Calculator estimates the first-year tax savings of a short-term rental under the STR loophole, from a cost segregation study and 100% bonus depreciation. Enter your purchase price, land value, furniture, filing status, income and cost segregation split, and it shows:
- Your depreciable basis, the bonus depreciation on 5- and 15-year property, and the building's first-year depreciation.
- Federal and state tax savings on the real 2025 and 2026 tax brackets, not a flat percentage.
- The excess business loss limit (IRC 461(l)), which caps how much of the loss can offset your W-2 income this year.
- What the same property saves without a cost segregation study, for comparison.
Tip: If you leave the box confirming material participation with a 7-day-or-less average guest stay unchecked, the rental loss is treated as passive and saves nothing this year. That is not a bug: without material participation, the STR loophole does not apply.
Cost Segregation Calculator
The Cost Segregation Calculator estimates what a cost segregation study saves you this year, after subtracting the study's own cost. It covers a wider set of situations than the STR calculator:
- Real Estate Professional Status (REPS), the STR loophole, the $25,000 passive loss allowance for active participants, and rentals where the loss stays fully passive.
- Property placed in service in an earlier year, back to 2018, with the Form 3115 catch-up depreciation you can claim now instead of amending past returns.
- A 10-year depreciation schedule showing how the study moves deductions earlier compared to not doing one.
- What gets recaptured, and at what rate, if you sell.
Which one should I use?
If you already own, or are buying, a short-term rental with an average guest stay of 7 days or less and you materially participate in it, start with the STR Tax Savings Calculator. For a long-term rental, a property you already own from an earlier year, or if you want the 10-year schedule and recapture detail, use the Cost Segregation Calculator; it also runs the REPS and STR scenarios, just with more of the surrounding passive-loss rules shown.
Where to find them
Both calculators are on www.reps-log.com, not inside the REPSLog app. No sign-in is required, and they work on any device. Both are linked in the footer of every page on the site, and from the The STR Loophole and What is REPS? pages.
How this connects to your REPSLog hour log
Both calculators assume you can prove material participation or REPS status, and neither one logs a single hour for you. The number a calculator shows only holds up if your hour log does. Use REPSLog to log hours by voice or timer as you go, attach receipts and photos, log a spouse's or contractor's hours separately, and export a CPA-ready report at year end.
Related reading
- How to Switch a Property from Long-Term Rental (LTR) to Short-Term Rental (STR) and Vice Versa
- How to Adjust Your Tracking Goal in REPSLog
- How to Find a Tax Expert in REPSLog
- Cost segregation studies: how they multiply REPS tax savings
- The short-term rental tax loophole explained
If a number on either calculator does not make sense for your situation, contact us and we will take a look.
Both calculators give a planning estimate for a conversation with your CPA, not tax advice or a filed position. They assume the standard deduction, one property with no personal use, and the first tax year only, and REPSLog is not a party to the numbers your CPA ultimately files.
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