- Posted onNovember 24, 2025
- By Jessica I. Marschall, CPA, ISA AM November 23, 2025
After 26 years navigating the labyrinthine corridors of federal tax policy and six years elbow-deep in deconstructed buildings across America, I have discovered something remarkable: the same 76,000 pages of tax code (including tax memos, Congressional updates, and tax court cases) that often frustrate us also contain powerful tools to address our most pressing challenges. And right now, we need those tools more than ever.
I have five children, ages 17 to 25, entering a housing market that seems designed to lock them out. The median first-time homebuyer is now 40 years old. Homes that would have cost $183,000 when I bought mine in 2000 now sell for $725,000. My kids face this reality while also inheriting a climate crisis that demands urgent action. As both a mother and a tax professional, I refuse to accept that these challenges are insurmountable.
The good news? The intersection of tax policy, sustainable building practices, and economic innovation offers genuine solutions. Through The Green Mission Inc., GM-ESG, my tax consultancy MAS LLC and our work across the deconstruction and secondary materials marketplace, we’re proving every day that economic incentives properly aligned can simultaneously address housing affordability, climate goals, and community revitalization.
The Convergence of Crises Creates Opportunity
We must be clear about what we are facing. Housing construction costs have exploded, driven partly by tariffs that add $9,200 per home in some markets. Construction material prices jumped 6 percent annualized through May 2025, with steel and aluminum tariffs doubling from 25 percent to 50 percent. Meanwhile, America faces a shortage of 2 to 5 million housing units, and only 6 million of our 46 million renters can afford typical first-home mortgage payments requiring $126,700 in annual income.
At the same time, we are sending 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris to landfills annually. High-quality building materials, perfectly suitable for reuse, are being buried while we manufacture expensive new materials to replace them. It is economic and environmental madness.
But here is where it gets exciting: we already have the tools to work to change this equation.
The Secondary Market Solution: Making Economics Work for Everyone
At The Green Mission Inc., we value building materials on the secondary market every day. Here is what we have learned: used building materials typically sell for 20 to 35 percent of the cost of new equivalents. Wood-Mode cabinetry that cost $50,000 new? We are appraising them at $10,000 to $12,500. Poggenpohl contemporary cabinetry in near-new condition? Less than 50 percent of replacement cost. High-end windows, doors, appliances, lighting, and fixtures follow the same pattern.
Now imagine if builders could purchase quality materials at these prices. They could mark them up reasonably for resale while still offering prices well below prevailing market rates. For a typical home where materials represent 20 to 30 percent of construction costs, this could reduce final sale prices by several meaningful percentage points, potentially putting homeownership within reach for thousands of young families.
The global green building materials market is growing at a 14 percent compound annual rate, from $332 billion in 2024 to a projected $709 billion by 2030. The secondary materials market is poised to capture a meaningful share of that growth if we can solve the coordination and infrastructure challenges that have held it back.
We work on the valuation data, logistics for donation, and reporting metrics. Some of our brilliant in the colleagues are working on an infrastructure with a high enough profit margin attainable if a steady supply can build a consistent demand. We work alongside them.
Tax Policy as the Great Enabler
Here is where my two decades of tax expertise meets our six years of deconstruction work: tax policy can bridge the gap between vision and reality.
The charitable contribution deduction for donated building materials has enabled us to complete approximately 500 to 1,000 IRS-compliant deconstruction appraisals annually from 2019 to present. For higher-income taxpayers who itemize, federal tax savings of 20 to 35 percent of appraised value offset significant portions of incremental deconstruction costs over demolition. A typical residential project yielding $50,000 in salvageable materials generates $10,000 to $17,500 in federal tax savings, making the economics work.
But we have also identified where the current system falls short. Middle and lower-income taxpayers who do not itemize (or have significantly lower effective tax rates )see little to no benefit. Corporate taxpayers face basis limitations and depreciation recapture that can render donations tax-neutral. These gaps are causing enormous quantities of usable materials to flow straight to landfills simply because the tax math does not work.
The solution? We need a multi-layered approach combining enhanced tax incentives with genuine market development, developed and implemented by economic and finance minded teams ensuring that there is a profit margin (that exceeds opportunity cost) for each rung of the used building material supply chain.
Opportunity Zones 2.0: A Game-Changer for Community Development
The transformation of Opportunity Zones under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3 or OBBBA) offers one of the most promising tools in our arsenal. The program now provides permanent tax incentives for long-term investments in economically distressed communities, with enhanced benefits for rural areas through Qualified Rural Opportunity Funds.
Some possibilities: investors with capital gains can defer taxation for five years while funding affordable housing developments that incorporate reclaimed materials. If they hold for ten years, all appreciation on the investment is excluded from taxation. For rural investments, the basis reduction benefit triples from 10 percent to 30 percent.
This creates powerful incentives to build affordable housing in precisely the communities that need it most, while the enhanced rural benefits address the structural barriers that prevented rural areas from attracting capital under the original program. Couple this with procurement of secondary market materials at 20 to 35 percent of new material costs, and the economics of affordable housing development improve dramatically.
A developer using an Opportunity Zone fund to build workforce housing could reduce construction costs through secondary materials, qualify for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and provide investors with substantial tax benefits through the OZ structure. The result: more affordable units, sustainable building practices, community revitalization, and returns that justify the investment.
QSBS: Tax-Free Gains for Building Materials Businesses
While Opportunity Zones provide incentives for real estate and community development, another powerful tax tool applies directly to operating businesses in the secondary materials marketplace: Qualified Small Business Stock under Section 1202.
The OB3 QSBS benefits in ways that make building materials businesses particularly attractive. For stock issued after July 4, 2025, entrepreneurs can now exclude up to $15 million in capital gains (up from $10 million) with an accelerated schedule: 50 percent exclusion after three years, 75 percent after four years, and 100 percent after five years.
Potential implications for our industry? A founder who converts their LLC-based deconstruction or building materials business to C corporation status today and grows it from $5 million to $50 million in value over five years could potentially save over $3.5 million in federal taxes on the exit through QSBS treatment. That is significant capital that can fund expansion, workforce development, or the founder’s next venture.
The key requirements align well with how secondary materials businesses operate. The business must maintain at least 80 percent of assets in active trade operations, which deconstruction contractors, material processors, and resale operations naturally satisfy. Gross assets must be under $75 million at stock issuance, a threshold most emerging secondary market businesses fall well below. And the business must be engaged in an active trade, not passive investment, which again describes our sector perfectly.
For entrepreneurs building the infrastructure for a functional secondary materials marketplace, the QSBS opportunity is substantial. Processing facilities, logistics networks, retail operations, technology platforms, and specialized services can all qualify. The five-year holding period aligns with the timeline needed to build significant enterprise value in this emerging industry.
Section 351 tax-free transfers allow existing LLCs and partnerships to convert to C corporation status without triggering immediate taxation, making the transition feasible even for established businesses. The mechanics require precision, particularly around the 83(b) election that must be filed within 30 days of stock issuance and the 80 percent control requirement, but these are manageable challenges with proper tax guidance.
The convergence of QSBS benefits with the growth trajectory of the secondary materials market creates compelling economics for entrepreneurs. We’re building an industry projected to grow at 14 percent annually as part of the broader $709 billion green building materials market by 2030. Founders who position their businesses correctly can capture that growth while minimizing the tax friction that typically penalizes successful exits.
For my clients in the deconstruction and secondary materials space, I am increasingly recommending they evaluate C corporation conversion if they anticipate significant growth and an eventual exit. The potential tax savings of $3 million to $15 million on a successful business sale represents meaningful wealth that can fund retirement, generational transfers, or reinvestment in the sector.
The combination of Opportunity Zones for real estate development, QSBS for operating businesses, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for affordable housing, and charitable deductions for material donations creates a comprehensive tax policy framework supporting every aspect of the secondary materials ecosystem. We just need entrepreneurs bold enough to build the businesses that capture these opportunities.
Building the Infrastructure That Does Not Exist Yet
We must be honest about the challenge: the secondary market infrastructure we need does not fully exist yet. We have thousands of nonprofit secondary retailers and salvage yards operating independently, without the coordination, logistics networks, or marketing reach to serve builders at scale.
These goals are what we are building through GM-ESG and our partnerships with industry leaders through our economic, valuation, and ESG data coupled with logistics and tracking of product values on the primary versus secondary market. With Elisabeth Baudinaud and her team at Eco-Wise, Nichole Erickson and her team at United Assets Management we are creating the digital integration, data verification, and supply chain coordination that transforms scattered local operations into a functional national marketplace.
The model is straightforward: combine the nonprofit sector’s strength at material collection and donor motivation through tax deductions with for-profit logistics, marketing, and capital investment. Nonprofits continue receiving donations and serving their communities. For-profit partners provide the professional infrastructure to aggregate inventory, implement quality control, manage distribution, and reach large-scale buyers.
Our corporate furniture and fixture division has transformed what were disposal costs into value recovery averaging 20 to 40 percent of original investments. One Fortune 500 client facing $550,000 in disposal costs for their 280,000 square foot campus instead realized $1,825,000 in combined sales revenues and tax benefits through our strategic multi-channel disposition approach.
The Jobs Multiplier Nobody Talks About
Here is a bonus that should excite everyone: deconstruction creates 6 to 8 jobs for every one job in traditional demolition. These are skilled positions in carpentry, material handling, inventory management, quality grading, and logistics that cannot be outsourced or automated. They are exactly the kind of middle-class jobs that young people without four-year degrees desperately need.
When we coordinate Opportunity Zone investments with workforce development programs, we create sustainable employment pipelines. A rural manufacturing facility financed through a Qualified Rural Opportunity Fund, built partially with reclaimed materials, and paired with community college apprenticeship programs delivers community impact far beyond the building itself.
Climate Benefits We Can Actually Measure
Through our partnership with Eco-Wise, we are quantifying the carbon benefits that make this work so important. Every thousand board feet of reclaimed lumber prevents approximately one ton of CO2 emissions compared to new lumber production. For a typical residential project yielding 5,000 to 10,000 board feet, that’s equivalent to removing 5 to 10 cars from the road annually.
Manufacturing new bricks requires approximately 4,000 BTU per unit; reclaiming existing bricks requires less than 100 BTU for cleaning and palletizing. The embodied energy preservation alone justifies the effort, before we even consider landfill diversion and the avoided environmental impacts of virgin material extraction.
With ESG reporting requirements expanding and the SEC moving toward mandatory climate disclosures, corporations increasingly need data-backed evidence of sustainability efforts. Our work provides exactly that: verified carbon savings, landfill diversion metrics, and impact documentation aligned with international reporting standards.
The most exciting developments come from combining multiple incentive programs. Consider this scenario:
A developer uses an Opportunity Zone fund to acquire property in a designated zone. They apply for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to finance affordable units. The construction incorporates secondary market materials at substantial savings, documented through our appraisals and sourced through our network. Corporate donors provide materials and receive tax deductions plus ESG impact metrics for their sustainability reports. The completed development qualifies for LEED certification based on material reuse and carbon reduction.
Every stakeholder benefits. Low-income families get affordable housing. Corporate donors reduce disposal costs while advancing ESG goals. Investors receive OZ tax benefits on appreciated value. The developer reduces construction costs and qualifies for additional tax credits. The community gains revitalized housing stock and local jobs. The climate benefits from reduced carbon emissions and landfill diversion.
The tools exist in the work of those already in the sustainable building and deconstruction industry and in those 76,000 pages of tax code. The materials exist in buildings scheduled for demolition. The demand exists among families priced out of homeownership. We just need to connect the dots.
Virginia’s energy transformation, which I analyzed recently, provides a template for how policy, investment, and economic development can align. The state’s transition to renewable energy is creating infrastructure investment, workforce development, and business growth opportunities that extend far beyond the energy sector itself.
The same principles apply to building a functional secondary materials market. Strategic policy development, coordinated investment, workforce training, and sustained infrastructure development can transform what currently appears as scattered pilot projects into a genuine industry operating at scale.
The 14 percent compound annual growth rate in green building materials tells us the market is ready. Consumer demand is there. Environmental necessity is undeniable. We need policy frameworks and business models that capture this opportunity, while relying on good-old competitive gross margins and profit margins meeting or exceeding the current opportunity costs of competing projects.
I envision a future where my younger children and yours can afford homes built efficiently using quality reclaimed materials that would otherwise fill landfills. Where developers routinely source 20 to 30 percent of their materials from secondary markets, reducing costs and carbon footprints simultaneously. Where corporate relocations and renovations systematically recover asset value rather than creating disposal liabilities.
Where Opportunity Zone investments and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits work together to revitalize communities that have been left behind. Where workforce development programs train young people for careers in deconstruction, material processing, and sustainable building that cannot be automated away. Where ESG reporting drives corporate behavior toward genuine sustainability rather than greenwashing.
As a pretty dry, data-driven CPA, I fear this presents as utopian fantasy….However, every piece of the economic infrastructure and potential supply of materials exists right now. The tax incentives are in the code. The materials are in buildings awaiting demolition. The technology for coordination and verification is built. The market demand is growing at 14 percent annually. We are doing our small part, but it is catching raindrops in in a thimble compared to the amount of building materials and other property being tossed.
Making this vision real requires action on multiple fronts:
I started this work because I saw waste. Buildings full of valuable materials going to landfills because the economics didn’t justify saving them and they were not being valued and reported accurately. Families unable to afford homes while construction costs spiraled. Communities trapped in decline while investment capital flowed past them.
After 26 years in tax policy and six years in deconstruction, I know we have the tools to address these challenges. The pages of tax code contain powerful incentives if we deploy them. The millions of tons of demolition debris contain valuable materials if we build systems to recover them. The billions in investment capital seeking tax-advantaged returns can fund affordable housing if we structure deals properly.
My five children deserve better than a world where homeownership is deferred to age 40, where climate change accelerates unchecked, and where quality materials are wasted while families go underhoused. Your children deserve better too.
The intersection of tax policy, sustainable building practices, and economic development offers genuine solutions. We are proving it works every day through The Green Mission Inc., GM-ESG, MAS LLC, and our expanding network of partners across North America. The market is growing at 14 percent annually. The technology exists. The materials exist. The demand exists.
All we need now is the collective will (and profit margins…do not forget that participants must make money!!!) to build the future our children deserve. And I, for one, refuse to accept anything less.
Jessica I. Marschall, CPA, ISA AM, serves as President and CEO of MAS LLC, The Green Mission Inc., Probity Appraisal Group, and GM-ESG. With 26 years in tax advisory and six years in deconstruction appraisal and consultation, she has become a nationwide expert in deconstructed material valuation, serving over 400 tax clients and completing approximately 1,000 deconstruction appraisals annually. She is the mother of five children ages 17 to 25.
Marschall, Jessica I. “Building a Functional Secondary Market for Reused Building Materials: A Call to Action.” The Green Mission Inc., December 24, 2024.
Marschall, Jessica I. “Tariffs May Finally Drive a Shift to the Secondary Market for Building Materials.” The Green Mission Inc., 2025.
Marschall, Jessica I. “Beyond the Tax Deduction: Unlocking Economic Value in the Secondary Market for Building Materials.” The Green Mission Inc., 2025.
Marschall, Jessica I. “Building Smarter: How Secondary Materials Can Lower Costs and Revive the Housing Market.” The Green Mission Inc., 2025.
Marschall, Jessica I. “Building a Circular Economy: How GM-ESG and The Green Mission Inc. Help Lead in Sustainable Construction.” The Green Mission Inc., 2025.
Marschall, Jessica I. “Systemic Barriers and Economic Solutions: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Secondary Market for Building Materials and Personal Property.” The Green Mission Inc., 2025.
Marschall, Jessica I. “Opportunity Zones 2.0: A New Era of Community Investment Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” MAS LLC, November 21, 2025.
Marschall, Jessica I. “The Mortgage Interest Deduction Is Not a Strategy: Understanding Schedule A Before Taking on More Debt.” MAS LLC, November 17, 2025.
Marschall, Jessica I. “Virginia’s Energy Transformation: Tax, Workforce, and Infrastructure Implications for Regional Business Growth.” MAS LLC, November 12, 2025.
Marschall, Jessica I. “The 50-Year Mortgage Proposal: A False Solution to a Real Crisis.” MAS LLC, November 11, 2025.
Marschall, Jessica I. “The Affordability Crisis: How Today’s 20-Somethings Face an Unprecedented Financial Landscape.” MAS LLC,
