How Yonah Weiss Helped Investors Save Over $1 Billion in Taxes

Steven Weinstock: Hi everyone, and welcome to the Wealth Clock with Steven Weinstock podcast. I'm Steven Weinstock. I've been investing in real estate for over 20 years, from single family homes to multi-family syndications, to launching my own real estate investment fund. But this show isn't about me. It's about operators, founders, and deal makers who are building real results. Today I'm joined by Yonah Weiss, Director at Madison Specs and host of the Weiss Advice podcast. Yonah has helped real estate investors save over a billion dollars in taxes through cost segregation. That's not a typo - a billion with a B. Yonah, welcome to the show. Yonah Weiss: Steven, thanks so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. Steven Weinstock: So let's start with the basics. For someone who's never heard of cost segregation, what is it and why should they care? Yonah Weiss: Great question. So when you buy a piece of real estate, the IRS says you have to depreciate it over a certain number of years - 27.5 years for residential, 39 years for commercial. That's a long time. Cost segregation is a study where we go through the property and identify components that can be depreciated faster - in 5, 7, or 15 years instead of 27.5 or 39. Steven Weinstock: Can you give an example? Yonah Weiss: Sure. Think about a commercial building. The walls, the roof, the foundation - those have to be depreciated over the long period. But the carpeting, the special electrical for equipment, the landscaping, the parking lot - those can be depreciated much faster. A cost segregation study identifies and reclassifies those components so you get the tax deduction sooner. Steven Weinstock: And then there's bonus depreciation. How does that fit in? Yonah Weiss: Bonus depreciation is like cost segregation on steroids. Until recently, you could take 100% of those accelerated components as a deduction in year one. So instead of depreciating that carpet over 5 years, you could deduct the entire cost in the first year. Steven Weinstock: That's huge for investors. Yonah Weiss: It's massive. We've worked with investors who bought a $10 million property and took a $3 million deduction in year one. That's real money that they can reinvest or use to offset other income. Steven Weinstock: Now the rules have changed a bit, right? Yonah Weiss: Yes, bonus depreciation is phasing down. It was 100% through 2022, 80% in 2023, 60% in 2024, and continuing to phase out. But it's still incredibly valuable, and there are other strategies we use to maximize tax benefits. Steven Weinstock: You've helped investors save over a billion dollars. How did you get into this business? Yonah Weiss: That's a fun story. I was actually an educator for many years. I taught high school, worked in curriculum development. And then I made a pivot into real estate and discovered cost segregation. I realized that my skills as an educator - explaining complex topics simply, connecting with people - translated perfectly to this field. Steven Weinstock: That's a big career change. Yonah Weiss: It was, but the core skills are the same. Whether I'm teaching teenagers about history or explaining cost segregation to a syndicator, it's about making complex information accessible and actionable. Steven Weinstock: Let's talk about your LinkedIn presence. You've built a massive following there. What's your approach? Yonah Weiss: Consistency and authenticity. I post every single day, sometimes multiple times. But I'm not just posting to post - I'm sharing real insights, real stories, real value. I talk about tax strategies, but I also share personal stuff, lessons I've learned, even my failures. Steven Weinstock: How has that impacted your business? Yonah Weiss: It's been transformational. LinkedIn has become my primary lead generation tool. People reach out to me because they've been following my content for months or years. By the time we talk, they already trust me. They already understand what cost segregation is and why it matters. Steven Weinstock: Any advice for someone looking to build their personal brand? Yonah Weiss: Start now and be consistent. You don't have to be perfect - just start posting. Share what you know, share what you're learning, share your journey. The compound effect of consistent content creation is incredible. Steven Weinstock: Let's talk about some case studies. Can you share an example of a particularly impactful cost segregation study? Yonah Weiss: Sure. We worked with a syndicator who bought a 200-unit apartment complex for about $30 million. Through cost segregation, we identified about $8 million in assets that could be accelerated. With bonus depreciation, they were able to take a significant portion of that as a first-year deduction. For their investors, that meant the paper losses could offset other income, dramatically improving their after-tax returns. Steven Weinstock: That's the power of understanding tax strategy. Yonah Weiss: Exactly. I always tell investors - you need to understand the deal, but you also need to understand the tax implications. Sometimes the tax benefits are what make an okay deal into a great deal. Steven Weinstock: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in real estate investing about taxes? Yonah Weiss: Build a team. Find a good CPA who understands real estate. Learn about cost segregation, even if you're starting small. And think about taxes from day one, not as an afterthought. The decisions you make when buying and structuring a deal have huge tax implications down the road. Steven Weinstock: Yonah, this has been incredibly valuable. Where can people find you? Yonah Weiss: LinkedIn is the best place - just search Yonah Weiss. You can also check out Madison Specs for information about cost segregation, and the Weiss Advice podcast for more conversations like this one. Steven Weinstock: Yonah, thanks for joining us on the Wealth Clock. Yonah Weiss: Thanks for having me, Steven. This was great.