NEED TAX ATTORNEY CPA ADVICE, TRAVEL TIME FOR RE PRO TEST

[Thomas Gagnon]

Im reaching out to all the real estate tax attorneys lawyers CPA etc. I want to start by saying that I have contacted both tax attorneys and CPAs in my local area and have not made much progress after those meetings, so please refrain from that suggestion. I'm looking for actual experience with the following issue. I have been reading a lot about the real estate professional tests. My question is geared towards whether the time spent going to and from or at the very least to my rental properties can count towards the hours needed to establish my real estate professional status? I can find countless case law in support of this but they all vary somewhat with respect to the details of each case I find. In some, travel time TO AND FROM was allowed, in others it was not. Most if not all cases where it was not allowed the tax payer did not keep day to day records or their records were lacking some substantial level of detail. I have no issue with the contemporaneous nature of my records or the level of detail contained in them. In interpreting the IRS tax code it states that travel time is not considered material participation but in other IRS guidance docs they state that they have no real definition of what constitutes travel etc. In other IRS publications travel mileage is allowed as a deduction, that said, if mileage is deductible because it is a business expense then it is logical to believe the time spent in that activity constitutes a business activity and as such you'd think it would count towards material participation. In my case my LLCs are registered to my home address where my home office is located, which I believe establishes that my tax home is then my home address. In my case I did not file for a home office because of the hassles that may ensue, however that is not being scrutinized, at least not yet. However, all legal docs, utility bills, business banking statements, leases you name it list my home address on them. I'm constantly transporting materials, tools, to my properties so I can complete repairs etc. I also conduct all one on one tenant meetings, transactions, almost all meetings with anyone related to my business activities at either the property or my home office. I do not use property management or any other service provider outside of those required to be licensed in my real estate rental business. I am the definition of self management. I do have other income in the form of Engineering consulting that I do on a regular basis and I am paid hourly to do it, billing for for each hour spent in that activity, with sound records for that as well. I'm looking for a sound defense that travel time if spent traveling to a rental property activity at the very least can count towards the hours. I could attempt to be more aggressive and also count hours traveling from that completed business activity back to my home office whether or not additional business activities are accomplished once I arrive but I'll leave that out of my question here. Any help from a tax attorney lawyer or CPA or someone who has personally gone toe to toe on this matter with the IRS would be greatly appreciated. Looking for a solid defense concerning this. Thanks Everyone!!