Real Estate Accounting · Decatur & Atlanta, GA

Real Estate CPA in Atlanta, GA

Accolade Accounting is a real estate CPA based in Decatur, Georgia, working with individual investors, landlords, and real estate businesses across the Atlanta metro since 2016. Before you buy, sell, flip, refinance, or restructure a property, the tax treatment usually comes down to decisions made before the transaction closes, not what happens at filing time.

Schedule Your Consultation (470) 646-2663

Individual Investor or Real Estate Business, We Work With Both

Maybe you own one rental house. Maybe you manage a portfolio of Airbnbs. Or your properties sit inside an LLC or S-Corp built to hold real estate. Each setup changes your tax picture, and we work with individual investors and real estate businesses alike, on entity structure, cost segregation, and multi-property planning.

Call (470) 646-2663

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office@accoladeaccounting.com

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Schedule a consultation online

Since 2016

Serving real estate clients

Investor & Business

Individuals and entities alike

Atlanta Metro

Decatur, Buckhead & beyond

Serving Atlanta and the Surrounding Metro

Real estate tax planning for clients in Decatur, Atlanta, Vinings, Dunwoody, Marietta, Norcross, Alpharetta, Stone Mountain, and Buckhead.

Client Feedback

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“Reasonable price. Very professional. They made filing my complicated real estate tax return simple & seamless.”

Shawn S., Google Review

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“Gian and her team did an amazing job for us… They helped answer our real estate questions and plan for the upcoming 2-3 years.”

Chris B., Google Review

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“Accolade Accounting helped save us time and energy managing taxes. These savings will allow us to focus on our business.”

Verified Client., Google Review

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Frequently Asked Questions

Real Estate Tax Questions, Answered

Straight answers on real estate tax basics, 1031 exchanges, depreciation, and passive activity rules — organized into 4 categories, 23 questions total.

Real Estate Tax Basics

What’s the tax difference between a real estate developer and a contractor?

A developer builds or improves property for their own investment or resale. A contractor builds or improves property for someone else. The distinction affects how income and costs are classified for tax purposes.

How are lease acquisition costs treated for tax purposes?

Costs paid to acquire a lease aren’t deducted all at once. They’re amortized, or spread out, over the length of the lease.

What’s the tax difference between a real estate investor and a dealer?

If you hold property long-term as an investment, gains are typically taxed at capital gains rates. If you’re regularly buying and reselling property, the IRS may classify you as a dealer, and profits are taxed as ordinary income instead.

Are security deposits taxable income?

No, not while they’re refundable. A security deposit only becomes includable income if you keep part or all of it because a tenant violated the lease.

I only own one rental property. Do I still need a real estate CPA?

Yes. Tax guidance is useful from the point you acquire the property, not just at filing time. Early decisions about how the property is held and financed affect your tax position for as long as you own it.

What’s the difference between a regular CPA and a real estate CPA?

A real estate CPA specializes in issues that don’t come up in most other tax work, like cost segregation studies and 1031 exchanges. That specialization affects how much of your tax position gets optimized versus missed.

Do you work with property owners who have real estate in multiple states?

Yes. Multi-state property ownership adds filing complexity across jurisdictions, and we handle that as part of our work with investors.

What real estate tax deductions do people commonly miss?

Travel related to managing your properties, property management expenses, startup costs before a property is placed in service, and the portion of home office or equipment costs tied to managing your real estate.

1031 Exchanges (Like-Kind Exchanges)

What is a 1031 exchange?

A 1031 exchange lets you defer recognizing income when you exchange one investment property for another, rather than paying tax on the sale immediately.

What properties qualify for a 1031 exchange?

Since 2018, 1031 exchanges apply only to real property, and the properties involved must be similar-use investment or business property.

Who can use a 1031 exchange?

Partnerships, individuals, corporations, and trusts can all use 1031 exchanges, provided the properties involved qualify.

What does “like-kind” mean for a 1031 exchange?

It means the properties are of the same nature or character. The quality or grade of the property doesn’t matter for this purpose.

What doesn’t qualify for a 1031 exchange?

Personal residences, property located outside the U.S., and inventory held by a dealer for resale don’t qualify.

What are the deadlines for a 1031 exchange?

You must identify a replacement property within 45 days of selling the original property, and complete the exchange within 180 days.

Can I exchange into more than one replacement property?

Yes, up to three properties are permitted under specific IRS guidelines.

Depreciation

How does depreciation work for real estate?

Depreciation lets you recover the cost of a property over time through tax deductions. Land itself can’t be depreciated, only the structure and eligible improvements.

How long does it take to depreciate different types of real property?

Residential rental property depreciates over 27.5 years, nonresidential property over 39 years, and qualified improvement property over 15 years.

What’s the difference between “allowed” and “allowable” depreciation?

Allowed depreciation is what you actually claimed. Allowable depreciation is what you were legally entitled to deduct, whether or not you claimed it. The IRS treats these the same way when you eventually sell.

Passive Activity and At-Risk Rules

What are at-risk limitations?

At-risk rules limit how much loss you can deduct in a given year based on how much you actually have at risk in the investment. Any unused loss carries forward to future years.

What are passive activity loss rules?

Passive losses can generally only offset passive income, not your regular income. Unused passive losses carry forward until you have passive income to offset or you dispose of the activity.

What does the IRS consider a passive activity?

A business you don’t materially participate in, or a rental activity, generally counts as passive regardless of your participation level.

What is material participation?

Material participation means you’re involved in the operation of the activity on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis.

How does the IRS determine if I materially participate?

There are seven tests under the tax code. Meeting any one of them qualifies you as a material participant.

Talk to a Real Estate CPA Before You File

Call, email, or schedule online — most questions are easier to answer before a transaction closes, not after.