Rental Expert Pod

Rental Expert Pod

By: Jason Watson / Posted Tuesday, October 7, 2025
rental expert pod
Posted By: Jason Watson

Overview of the Rental Expert Pod

  • Specialization matters. WCG’s Pod system lets our CPAs “stay in their lane” — delivering focused, expert tax planning every time.
  • Meet the Rental Expert Pod. Our new team of real estate CPAs and rental property tax specialists supports all seven Pods with deep rental expertise.
  • Real estate tax is complex. From STR rules to cost segregation to material participation to bonus depreciation, our specialists know how to turn rental complexity into tax opportunity.
  • Small team, big consistency. It’s easier (and smarter) to hyper-train a few experts than 40 generalists (yes, they can talk the basic rental talk, but can’t walk the finer nuanced walk).
  • Collaboration is our edge. The REP works with your primary Pod to ensure your rental property tax reporting is seamless and accurate.
  • More than tax return prep. The REP helps with tax planning and strategy, empowering real estate investors to build long-term wealth.

WCG Introduces the Rental Expert Pod: Where Real Estate Meets Tax Expertise

rental expert podAt WCG, we’ve always believed that great tax planning starts with great specialization. No, we are not pioneers and Yes, this belief is obvious, but roll with us anyway.

In practice and in discussions around the water cooler, we say, “stay in your lane.” That’s why our tax team structure is built around Pods — small, agile groups of tax professionals (4-6 total) who embrace team camaraderie while achieving client intimacy. Each Pod is led by a seasoned tax manager or partner, and together they make up the core of our tax return preparation.

Today, we’re thrilled to introduce a new addition to that lineup: The Rental Expert Pod or REP for short. This is WCG’s dedicated team of real estate CPAs and rental property tax specialists. We could say REP Pod but that is like saying ATM machine or ABS brakes, right?

If you invest in rental real estate, operate short-term rentals, do fix and flips, or are involved in real estate groups, partnerships, or syndicates, this new Pod was design built for you (ok, bad pun for those in construction) — a team of dedicated real estate CPAs and rental property tax experts focused on optimizing your tax position, ensuring compliance, and helping you build long-term wealth through smart real estate strategies.

Why a Dedicated Rental Property Pod?

Rental properties bring unique tax challenges — and unique opportunities. Sure, that is a nice tag line but between passive-activity rules, real estate professional status, short-term rental loophole, cost segregation, accelerated depreciation, repairs versus improvements, and the ever-nuanced landscape of IRS guidance, rental property taxation has become a specialized field in itself. It seems simple at times, but it can get quite complicated-

  • When are startup expenses now acquisition costs?
  • What if you renovate before placing the rental property into service? What happens to utility bills and HOA dues?
  • How do you compute average guest stay when you convert your short-term rental into a long-term rental mid-year?
  • What is the danger of using “100 hours and no one did more hours than me” test?
  • Is there an optimal time to use cost segregation? Or to opt out of 5-year bonus?
  • What happens when you stop renting an STR and use it as a second home?
  • Why can’t your singular long-term rental own a Ferrari? (spoiler: there are about 350,000 reasons)
  • Can you deduct a water heater? (another spoiler: yes, under de minimis rules if under $2,500 or routine maintenance safe harbor)
  • Can you deduct a hot tub? Golf cart?

Instead of expecting every CPA to be an expert in every niche, WCG has developed a support-Pod model. Our seven primary tax Pods handle the full range of client tax returns — from individuals to small businesses — while the Rental Expert Pod supports those teams with deep, precise knowledge of rental property taxation.

This means your tax return isn’t just prepared — it’s strategically and collaboratively prepared.

In other less glamorous words, it is easier to hyper-train 3-4 real estate minded tax professionals than 40. Pure and simple. If you handed a settlement statement or closing disclosure to 40 tax professionals who all did a little of this and a little of that, you’d get 40 different acquisition costs and varying operating expenses stemming from the closing itself. Also, no one really cares about acquisition costs until it is time to sell and we are computing capital gains- let’s get it right the first time, yes?

Broadly our Rental Expert Pod will-

  • Prepare the rental property portion of a tax return including initial asset setup, dispositions (sales) and 1031-like exchanges.
  • Be part of tax advisory and tax strategy meetings with our rental property owners and real estate investors and their respective client managers.
  • Join prospective client meetings to offer expert insights and advice, and to help determine if WCG CPAs & Advisors is a good fit.
  • Help other tax professionals both within WCG and in the accounting community better understand the various elements of rental property investment and tax return preparation.

When we sought out to build this team, we initially had 9 current WCGers apply for 3 spots. Our primary question during the interview was, “Describe your level of passion for real estate investing and rental properties, and how do you intend to help others with that passion?”

The REP will be lead by Jason Watson, CPA, author of two books, one being “I Just Got A Rental, What Do I Do?” We see this Pod exploding over the next several years as more investors and property owners look to WCG for assistance.

rental property tax strategy

Rental Property Tax Strategies

Review rental income tax benefits and general real estate tax advantages in our KB article.

Converting STR to Second Home

There is some arbitrage available to you when converting a short-term rental into a second home.

Time Spent Renovating

Can you count time spent on renovations? No, if go from closing on day 1 to reno on day 2. Learn more!

Real Estate Tax Specialists, Not Generalists

Our real estate CPAs specialize in identifying those opportunities and making sure you get every tax deduction, credit, and optimization available under current tax law. We even make some up for kicks (kidding). Here is a short list of rental property areas of expertise that most small business or generalist tax professional is not fully considering-

  • Entity structure for your rental properties for anonymity, risk and wealth-transfer.
  • Initial asset setup including acquisition costs and loan amortization, plus startup expenses.
  • The importance of getting your rental property placed in service to start your clock.
  • Schedule C versus Schedule E considerations for your rental property including recreational equipment that you rent out.
  • Vacation home rules, and how to avoid getting snagged.
  • State problems with bonus depreciation, real estate professional status and like-kind exchanges.
  • Material participation tests, and what time counts including examples of activities that count.
  • Grouping elections under 1.469-4 and 1.469-9g, and how they can be leveraged and what to avoid.
  • Benefits of cost segregation studies (and the pitfalls) including opting out of bonus for certain classes (tax planning considerations)
  • Short-term rental loophole, including converting a garage or ADU into an STR, and also converting your STR into a second home.
  • Real estate professional status and the IRS audit techniques guide’s recommendations for examiners.
  • Common rental property tax deductions, and how to allocate general expenses across multiple rentals.
  • Mortgage interest tracing and how using your primary residence as collateral is a rental property tax deduction.
  • Home office and automobile deductions in connection with your rental activity.
  • Repairs versus improvements, and the three safe harbors for rental property owners.
  • Accelerated depreciation and Section 179 expensing, and which should be used over the other.
  • Qualified improvement property and how there can be arbitrage should you want to convert your STR into a second home.
  • Idle property during renovations and other market conditions, and which expenses remain deductible.
  • Retirement planning by creating a property management company and a solo 401k plan.

It’s the difference between a tax preparer and a real estate tax strategist — and at WCG, you get both.

What “Rental Expertise” Really Means

To us, expertise isn’t just about memorizing code sections. It’s about understanding how those rules translate into real-world outcomes for real-world investors.

Our Rental Expert Pod is staffed by real estate CPAs and tax professionals who:

  • Track real estate market trends, tax court guidance, and tax updates affecting landlords and investors.
  • Understand how to blend tax efficiency with compliance — especially when these objectives can be combined with overall wealth-building.
  • Communicate clearly and directly, cutting through tax jargon to help you make confident decisions unless the tax jargon is fun to say.

We know rental property owners want more than just compliance. You want comfort derived from clarity and insight, and a team that anticipates your needs. That’s what our Rental Expert Pod delivers.

STR Loophole Chapter

See our Short-Term Rental Loophole chapter from our rental book and learn the tricks of the trade.

Cost Segregation Study

Learn about cost segregation and how it can lower your taxes through accelerated depreciation.

Real Estate Professional Defined

See how real estate professional status can help deduct passive activity losses such as long-term rentals.

The WCG Advantage

When you work with WCG, you’re not hiring a single preparer — you’re engaging a coordinated team that operates like a small firm within a firm.

Your main Pod continues to oversee your overall tax return, planning, and communication. Behind the scenes, the Rental Expert Pod ensures that your rental property data is accurate, optimized, and strategically aligned with your goals. Mechanically here are the steps-

  • Our support team assembles your tax return information into an electronic binder.
  • The rental expert pod (REP) prepares the Schedule E or Form 8825 (for partnerships), and communicates directly with you.
  • If the tax return would qualify for FasTrac without the rental activity, then the REP will bring it all over the goal line.
  • Otherwise, your tax return is promoted to your Pod, and specifically your 2-person team within the Pod (client manager and tax professional).

We believe this hybrid model — blending generalists and specialists — is the future of a boutique tax practice. The big CPA firms have been doing this for decades, but they split things into chunky oil and gas, healthcare, defense, restaurants, etc. departments or floors. WCG CPAs & Advisors stay in our lane of small business generalists and real estate experts, but add a layer of specialization with the REP. This keeps your experience personal while giving you access to a bench of real estate CPAs who handle rental property issues every day.

Also, this is not just for tax return preparation but rater tax planning including tax advisory and strategy. Our REP members will also be brought into prospective client meetings and routine client meetings as well.

We are excited about this initiative. While nothing tests your idea like the public, we believe this will be a huge success to our team and our clients.

I Just Got A Rental, What Do I Do?

I just got a rental, what do I do? Purchasing a rental property is certainly challenging, but operating one to build wealth and find tax efficiency is equally challenging. This is our second book. Our first book, Taxpayer’s Comprehensive Guide to LLCs and S Corps, was first published in 2014 and was well-received by small business owners and tax professionals, so we thought a book on rental properties and real estate investments would be equally helpful. So, here we are with our second iteration, or the 2025 edition. We update it frequently throughout the year (last update was October 6, 2025).

Our rental property book starts with entity structures and moves into asset management such as acquisition, cost segregation, rental safe harbors, repairs versus improvements, accelerated depreciation, partial asset disposition, and 1031 like-kind exchange. From there we discuss various rental considerations like passive activity losses, short-term rental loophole, real estate professional status, and material participation including what time counts, and what time doesn’t count.

Finally, the good stuff! Rental property tax deductions such as travel, meals, automobiles, interest tracing, home office and common expenses. Fun!

It is available in paperback for $19.95 from Amazon and as an eBook for Kindle for 15.95. Our book is also available for purchase as a PDF from ClickBank for $12.95.

We Are Real Estate CPAs

WCG has a team of real estate CPAs ready to assist you with your rental property and real estate investments. Very few tax professionals and CPA firms specialize in real estate to provide you solid consultation, tax planning including tax reduction strategies, and tax return preparation. We are experts in-

This book is written with the general rental property in mind. Too many resources tell you the general rule but don’t bother to back it up with Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations and Tax Court cases. Our book lays it all out, explains the madness, adds some humor and various conundrums. Example? Water heaters and hot tubs- crazy stuff to consider.

Enjoy! And please send us all comments, hang-ups and static. This book is as much yours as it is ours, except the tiny royalty part- that’s ours. Stop by and we’ll buy you a beer with the pennies.

How To Purchase Our Rental Property Book

If you buy our 480-page book and think that we didn’t help you understand rental property tax laws, let us know. We never want you to feel like you wasted your money. If you are ready to add some insightful reading into your day, click on one of the preferred formats. Amazon is processed by Amazon, and the PDF is safely processed by ClickBank who will email you the PDF as an attachment.

$19.95 $15.95 $12.95

Getting Started with WCG

Learn about important tax deadlines, document checklists and due dates, and other essential tax return information.

Getting Started

Jason Watson, CPA is a Partner and the CEO of WCG CPAs & Advisors, a boutique consultation and tax preparation CPA firm located in Colorado, and is the author of Taxpayer’s Comprehensive Guide on LLC’s and S Corps and I Just Got a Rental, What Do I Do? which are available online and from mostly average retailers.

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