Tax deductions and property management

[Alex H.]

I know Ive seen a thread re: this but I cannot find it. If you utilize a full time PM company for an out of state rental property can you still deduct expenses for an annual/semi annual visit??

[Keith Barton]

Rental real estate is always a passive activity. However, if you are designated a real estate professional, it's not considered a passive activity and you can take a deduction against ordinary income. Also, if you materially participate in the rental activity, you can take up to $25k of the passive activity loss as a deduction against ordinary income - unless, your AGI exceeds a certain threshold: $100k it starts to phase out, and at $150k it's gone.

See IRS Publication 925: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p925/index.html