W2 & 1099 Realtor - Real Estate professional designation

[Marcus Lane]

Hi Bigger Pockets Community,

New member here...Im looking for some advice on whether I should be classified as a REPS or not for 2023 Tax year as my CPA isnt much help on determining if I should make this designation. Ill explain my situation the best I can...

Ive got a 100% remote corporate w2 Job making approximately 200k that offers a bit of flexibility since its mostly just project work. Ive got about 45 days of PTO/Sick/Vacation that is taken for the year so I work approximately 1650 hours a year at that job assuming a 40 hour work week.

I am also a licensed Real Estate agent with 2 separate LLCs - General Brokerage and Property Management.

Between the two LLCs, I've grossed pretty close to my W2 income. In 2023, I did 18 transactions(Top 500 of ~15,000 agents), and manage 13 rental properties for other individuals.

As an Individual, I also own 5 additional rental properties that I also self manage.

The reason I would like REPS is because Ive got about 200k in passive losses(100k just in 2023 as I fully remodeled one of the rentals and partial reno of another) I would like to apply towards our household W2 income(600k) Overall, I feel like I could definitely qualify but I definitely lack detailed time log of all activities. I have for things I already mark on my calendars, showingtime, extended client calls/meetings, etc. The area where I dont have detailed time logs is prospecting / relationship building for my real estate business which is 100% SOI, Social media posts/stories, attending social events, networking events, friend/family events, etc.

Side note...we have no kids so time to do both jobs is abundantly available.