A real estate CPA in Houston,
for returns that survive an IRS audit.
Tax and accounting for rental property owners, short-term rental operators and real estate professionals across Houston and Fort Bend County. The IRS audits real estate harder than any other return type — cost segregation, 1031 exchanges, real estate professional status, passive vs. active losses. Every position taken on your return gets documented in a workpaper that holds up if the letter ever arrives.
Short-term rentals have their own rules — see the short-term rental tax loophole explained and short-term rental CPA services.
What a real estate CPA does that a generalist doesn’t.
Real estate returns get questioned more than any other line of work. The file lives in our system fully papered, not reconstructed three years later from memory.
Schedule E per property
A separate column for every door — not aggregated. Per-property income, expenses, and depreciation that tie back to a real workpaper for each address. How this flows onto your 1040.
Cost segregation coordination
We don’t do the engineering study, but we coordinate it with the firm that does, model the first-year impact, and place the reclassified assets onto your depreciation schedule.
1031 exchange documentation
Coordination with your Qualified Intermediary, basis carryover schedules, Form 8824 preparation, and replacement-property depreciation reset. Done before year-end, not the week before April 15.
Real Estate Professional time-log support
Calendar, contemporaneous log template, and the workpaper memo positioning your >750-hour / >50% test annually. The IRS will ask for this if they audit — we file it in advance.
Entity-level bookkeeping per LLC
Separate books for each property LLC. K-1s out of partnership-held properties; clean handoff if you ever syndicate or sell. Monthly bookkeeping per LLC.
Short-term rental classification
STRs sit between Schedule C and Schedule E. We document material participation properly so STR losses can offset W-2 income when the rules support it.
Rental property owners we routinely file for.
Long-term real estate is the throughline at the firm. The portfolio doesn’t need to be big — it needs to be done right.
- Rental owners with 1–5,000 unitsSingle-family rentals, small multifamily, large multifamily, or a mixed portfolio. Per-property accounting and depreciation tracked from acquisition through disposition.
- Short-term rental operatorsAirbnb and VRBO operators where material participation, average stay length, and substantial services all change the tax treatment. STR loophole positioned correctly when it applies.
- 1031 exchange participantsMid-exchange, pre-exchange, or cleaning up a botched one from a prior CPA. We coordinate with the QI, attorney, and lender so the timing rules don’t bite.
- Real Estate Professional candidatesSpouse or self pursuing the IRS designation to convert passive rental losses into ordinary deductions. Hours documented annually, position defended in the workpaper.
Real estate tax advisory, bookkeeping, and the returns themselves.
Most investors need three of these, not all six. The first call sorts out which.
Rental property tax returns
Schedule E, depreciation schedules that actually reconcile year to year, passive activity loss tracking, and basis maintained per property rather than reconstructed every spring.
Real estate bookkeeping, per property
Books kept property by property. Most investors run everything through one account and find out at year end that they cannot say which door lost money — which also makes the return harder and more expensive to prepare.
Real estate tax advisory
The planning that happens before December, not the data entry that happens in March. Entity structure, cost segregation timing, and whether a 1031 exchange or an outright sale actually nets you more after tax.
Real estate professional status
The election that turns passive losses active. It turns on hours, and it requires contemporaneous logs — most people who claim it cannot support it. What a log has to show.
Cost segregation and catch-up depreciation
Front-loading depreciation on a building you already own, including catch-up on property held for years without a study, via Form 3115. No amended returns required.
What this is not: property tax protests
Property tax — the ad valorem bill from Fort Bend or Harris County — is a separate specialty with its own practitioners. If your assessed value is too high you want a protest firm, not a CPA. Handled here is the income tax on what the property earns, not the county’s opinion of what it is worth.
Three steps. No portals.
Same shape on every engagement at the firm — individual, entity, books, or CFO work. The simpler the path in, the faster you get to the work that actually matters.
Free 30-minute consultation
We talk through your situation, scope the work, and tell you straight if we’re the right fit. No intake form, no portal, no sales pitch.
Engagement letter & flat fee
Scope confirmed in writing. Fixed price. You see what’s included and what isn’t before a single hour is logged.
The work, year round
Your file runs through Tim directly. Quarterly check-ins, same-day IRS notice handling, and a direct line through the rest of the year.
Portfolio-priced, not transaction-priced.
Real estate engagements roll bookkeeping, partnership returns, and planning into one annual flat fee. Cost seg studies referred at cost; we don’t mark up vendors.
What property owners ask a real estate CPA first.
Audit-bait topics, answered straight.
01 How do I actually qualify as a Real Estate Professional?
Two tests: more than 750 hours in real estate trades or businesses, and more than 50% of your personal services in real estate. Both have to be documented contemporaneously — not reconstructed at audit. We set up the time log on day one and review it quarterly.
02 What are the 1031 timing rules I keep hearing about?
45 days from sale close to identify replacement properties in writing, 180 days to close on one. Identification has to be unambiguous (specific address or legal description), and you can’t touch the proceeds — they go through a Qualified Intermediary the entire time.
03 Does cost segregation actually pay off?
For a property under $500K of building basis, often not — the study costs eat the benefit. Above $750K it usually clears comfortably. We model the actual first-year impact against the study cost before you commission anything.
04 Are my Airbnb losses passive or active?
Depends on average guest stay and the services you provide. Under 7 days average stay with substantial services can shift the income to Schedule C and let losses offset W-2 income. We document the position annually.
05 Can passive losses offset my W-2?
Generally no — they suspend. Three exceptions: $25K active-participation allowance (phases out above $150K AGI), Real Estate Professional status, or short-term rental treatment with material participation. We model which path actually works for your situation.
06 Do you work with out-of-state investors who own Houston property?
Yes, and it is common. Texas has no personal income tax, so an out-of-state owner files a Texas property on their home-state return while the entity may still owe Texas franchise tax. The combination catches people out. Bring the other state into the first conversation rather than at filing.
“Whetzel & Co. made this tax cycle stress free. Their knowledge, professionalism and confidence gave us the assurance our taxes were completed accurately.”
Build a portfolio that
files cleanly.
Schedule a free 30-minute consultation. We’ll walk your current structure, surface what’s leaking, and quote a flat-fee annual engagement.
Further reading
- Real estate investor tax strategies for Houston portfolios
- The Houston real estate investor's tax playbook
- Houston rental property tax guide: deductions and depreciation
- Active vs passive income tax treatment for Houston real estate
- Opportunity zones in Houston: tax benefits and how they work
- Major real estate tax changes in 2026
- Houston real estate tax deductions: the complete investor's guide