Credible tax strategy firm for Commercial Real Estate Businesses in San Francisco, CA

Our CPA experts provide fractional CFO services, accounting, and tax strategy for commercial real estate owners and investors across the San Francisco Bay Area and California, helping you manage cash flow, understand portfolio performance, and make more informed financial decisions as your holdings grow.

Some of the most consequential financial decisions in commercial real estate happen around specific transactions and deadlines — a 1031 exchange window, a refinancing decision, a property acquisition or sale, or a cost segregation opportunity that has not been evaluated. We provide fractional CFO services, accounting, and tax strategy for CRE owners across the San Francisco Bay Area and California who need a CPA thinking on that timeline.

We work with commercial real estate owners and investors to structure entities property by property, plan around 1031 exchanges and cost segregation opportunities, and consolidate reporting across a multi-property portfolio. This is a different conversation than a construction or trades business. The tax strategy here is built around depreciation, financing, and disposition timing rather than job costing.

The numbers we review together:

  • Rental income and CAM recovery by property
  • Loan covenant compliance and debt service coverage ratios
  • Depreciation schedules and cost segregation opportunities
  • 1031 exchange timelines and basis tracking
  • Entity structure and multi-entity consolidation
  • Passive activity loss tracking
  • Capital expenditure vs. operating expense classification
  • Property-level vs. portfolio-level P&L
  • Owner/partner distributions and tax set-asides

San Francisco Tax Strategy for CRE Owners Planning Their Next Move

Financial Guidance for Commercial Real Estate Practices

Strong occupancy or rising property values don’t always translate into strong cash flow. Between debt service, capital improvements, tenant improvements, repairs, property taxes, and uneven rent collections, cash can get tied up quickly. Without a clear view of each property’s financial performance, it becomes harder to know which assets are truly generating healthy returns.

Our team of CPAs and accountants helps commercial real estate owners build financial systems around how their portfolio actually operates, giving them clearer visibility into cash flow, property performance, tax exposure, and the financial decisions behind future growth.

The Tax Decisions That Actually Move the Needle

Financial challenges often start as everyday business decisions. For California companies, having the right advisor in place can help identify risks early and address them before they disrupt growth.

Cost segregation left on the table

Most CRE owners depreciate buildings on a straight 27.5- or 39-year schedule when a cost segregation study could accelerate a meaningful portion of that depreciation. We assess whether it’s worth commissioning one.

1031 exchange timing risk

The identification and closing windows in a 1031 exchange are unforgiving, and getting the basis tracking wrong afterward creates problems for years. We plan around these deadlines, not after them.

Entity structure sprawl

Many CRE owners hold each property in a separate LLC for liability reasons, but that creates a consolidation and reporting burden if it isn’t managed deliberately. We build reporting that rolls up cleanly.

Loan covenant and refinancing pressure

Debt service coverage ratios and covenant compliance directly affect your ability to refinance or acquire. We track this proactively, not right before a lender asks.

Tax drag & missed deductions

Passive activity loss rules and real estate professional status determination materially change what you can deduct. Most owners haven’t had this actively planned.

We partner best with CRE owners that:

Who We Work Best With

We work with commercial real estate owners and operators throughout San Francisco, the Bay Area, and California, helping them bring more clarity to property finances, tax planning, and portfolio-level decision-making.

Multi-Property CRE Investors

California owners holding several commercial properties across one or more entities.

Retail & Mixed-Use Property Owners

Owners managing retail centers or mixed residential-commercial properties.

Office & Industrial Property Owners

Owners of office buildings, warehouses, or industrial space with longer-term leases.

1031 Exchange Investors

Owners actively using 1031 exchanges to grow or reposition a portfolio while deferring capital gains.

Real Estate Investment Partnerships & Syndications

Multi-partner ownership structures needing consolidated, partner-level reporting.

The right financial strategy doesn’t just organize your books. It increases resilience and confidence.

Your financial setup should work the way you do — not the other way around. That’s when things finally make sense

Our clients gain:

Samy Basta, CPA

Fractional CFO & Accounting Services in San Francisco, California

Growth can expose gaps in a commercial real estate company’s financial systems. As portfolios and operations become more complex, stronger reporting, financial infrastructure, and strategic oversight can help owners maintain visibility and make better-informed decisions.

“Basta & Co. was recommended to us after we had a series of bad experiences with other accounting firms. We look forward to tax season with Samy in charge of our complex tax situations.”

Sharon Ching

SLM Architecture and Design

What a great surprise! We were expecting to pay IRS over $10,000 in additional taxes but we ended up with $4,000 tax credits and paid nothing! Samy is amazing! He knows all the recent tax reforms and patiently explains them to us and applies the relevant tax deductible tools and strategies for our business and personal taxes.

Elmira Esmaeili

As a new client I’m delighted to report that my interactions with Basta & Company have been excellent.  I’m grateful for the invaluable assistance I’ve so far received from Basta & Company, and staff!


John Meloy

I cannot recommend Samy enough! He helped us with a very challenging 1031 exchange which allowed us to defer our capital gains taxes and purchase a new property. He returns e-mails and phone messages promptly and the best part is that he talks non CPA language to you in order to make sure you understand everything. If I could, I would give him 6 stars!

Michael Berke

Insights From Your San Francisco CPA

No. We’re based in the Bay Area serving the built environment (construction and construction specialty trades, engineering and design-firms, and property managers) across California.

Yes. We assess your properties and estimate the potential benefit before you commit to the cost of a study.

Yes. We help you plan around identification and closing deadlines and track basis correctly afterward.

Yes. We build consolidated reporting that rolls up cleanly across your entity structure.

Yes. We track debt service coverage ratios and covenant requirements proactively.

We help with depreciation strategy, entity structure, passive activity loss planning, and year-end tax strategy.

Yes. We help you understand how this status could change what you’re able to deduct.

Fill out our contact form to share your business details and biggest financial challenges. We’ll review everything, and if it looks like a good fit, we’ll invite you for a call to dive deeper. No obligation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still Have A Question ?

We’re here to help. Reach out to our team and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Sounds like a fit? Let's talk.

Basta & Company guides San Francisco businesses through every financial milestone — from business structure and accounting systems to tax strategy and scaling with confidence.