What Should You Buy To Erase Your Tax?

Start From Your Income

Tell Us What You Make. We'll Tell You The Building.

Type in what you earn and where you live, and we show you the size building to buy to wipe out your federal tax — and roughly how much state tax falls too. Then play with every slider: the building size, your return, the years ahead, and what it all costs. As long as your spouse qualifies as a real estate professional, this is how high earners legally get their tax close to zero.

See the full strategy & IRS sources →

The Quick Rule Of Thumb

Buy a building about 4× your income

That is the ballpark for an apartment building to wipe out one year of federal tax. FF&E-heavy buildings (hotels) need a bit less — about 3.3× — and plain shells (warehouses) need more — 5× or higher. The calculator below pinpoints your exact number.

Start Here

Two inputs to get your answer — then fine-tune everything below.

Your income this year (how much do you want to shelter?) $2,000,000

What you earned (or expect to) in 2026. We'll size the building so depreciation covers the tax on it.

What state do you live in

Your home state taxes all your income.

Filing status

The Building

Purchase price + closing costs $8,000,000

Slide to see how much tax each size wipes. Depreciation is on the whole price.

Down payment 25%

Cash down = $2,000,000. You depreciate the whole building, not just this.

Mortgage rate 6.5%

Drives the loan payment, so the chart can show cash flow after the mortgage.

Building return / appreciation 5.0%

How much the building grows in value each year.

Rent yield (gross) 6.0%

Yearly rent as a % of price — sets the management fee base.

Years to project 10

Depreciation Levers

Land (not depreciable) 20%

Cost-seg reclass 30%

Tap the building type to see what it usually gets:

Higher % = more depreciation now (hotels). Lower % = a plain shell (warehouse).

Bonus depreciation 100%

Set by the year you buy — tap your buy-year:

2025 and later: 100%, made permanent.

↗ IRS: 100% bonus, permanent for 2025+

Property type

The Costs

Acquisition fee 5.00%

One-time, on the purchase price. Our listing: 4%. Any other listing: 6%.

Management fee 5.00%

Yearly, on rent collected. Our listing: 4%. Any other: 6%.

Buy A Building Worth Roughly

$15.4M

8.6¢

Federal tax saved per $1 of building — this year

How Much Is Too Much?

Optimal for THIS yearzeros your tax with the least money

$7.7M

Ceiling over 10 yearsmost one building can ever shelter

$45M

Tax you owe (fed + state)

$2,000,000

→

After the building you picked

$211,000

Federal tax wiped$1.4M

State tax saved$59K

Building you picked

$8.0M

$2.0M down at 25%

Year-1 depreciation

$2.08M

cost seg + bonus, written off now

Sweet-spot building

$7.7M

least to zero your federal tax

Total tax wiped

$1.5M

at the building you picked

What It Costs — & Your Net

First-year tax saved

$1,500,000

Acquisition fee 5.00% of price, one-time

– $400,000

Management fee 5.00% of rent, this year

– $24,000

Net in your pocket, year one

$1,076,000

The Years Ahead

Depreciation, tax saved, and the building's value growing each year.

Year	Building value	Net income	Cash flow	Depreciation	Fed tax saved	Cumulative saved

Rough illustration — not tax advice. It works only if your spouse genuinely qualifies as a real estate professional (750+ hours, material participation). Wiping income to zero zeros your federal tax; most states (NY, NJ, CA) don't follow bonus depreciation, so state tax only partly drops. Figures use approximate 2025 brackets and ignore NIIT, AMT, QBI, recapture on sale, and many specifics. Every claim and limit is cited on the full strategy page. Run the real numbers with a qualified CPA before acting.