STR Tax Loophole/Strategy So Close to the End of the Year?

[Carolyn McBride]

I'm about to go into contract on a property I want to use as an STR. I'll likely close on the property around early November and it will need small cosmetic updates, maybe a new deck, and of course new furniture set up.

Since it's so close to the end of the year, I'm wondering if anyone else has had success with the STR loophole requirements and material participation when acquiring a property with only two months left in the year? I'm planning on trying to complete 100 hours of material participation...

Did the IRS have issues with the 100 hours of material participation for only two months out of the year? What types of work were you able to capture as "material participation"? And what are the requirements for how many days the Airbnb needed to have been rented in that year?

I'm wondering if I can qualify by using just 1 or 2 bookings (under 7 days of course) for the year.