Losing deductions due to income cap

[Colleen Ferrari]

Hi-- this is my first post to the group. I joined a few days ago so please forgive me if I do this wrong. 

I read many articles and books on investing in real estate. I have owned a few rentals for 20 years or more, and have a tax question. I keep hearing how "millionaire real estate investors" take advantage of the depreciation and maintenance/repair costs on properties, and wonder why have they not hit the income cap on deductions?? 

We lost some of our deductions when our personal earned income hit $150,000 and lost all our deductions on real estate when we hit the income level of $180,000. Our tax person says we can recoup those deductions in later years when our income goes down. Here is the question-- Is there a way to separate your earned income from your real estate income so that you still get the deductions from your real estate investment holdings? Is that a worthwhile path to explore? Should we form an LLC? Or should we satisfy ourselves with the fact that we have a small income stream with the properties and equity is building? Are we missing something here?

Thank you,

Colleen