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Updated about 4 years ago on . Most recent reply

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Mike Y.
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IRS Real Estate Professional with small # of units?

Mike Y.
Posted

My wife and I own a three unit building and occupy one of the units, as well as a separate large undeveloped block of land. She works full-time and I work half time as a consultant. We have passive loss rollovers from previous years. 

Even though we have a small number of properties, this will be a busy year for us as we are planning major renovations for our building, renting a vacant unit, and selling our land and converting to an income producing property investment. I'm also personally doing work I can such as renovating the shared garden, installing a security system, etc. 

It seems to me reasonable to declare myself a real estate professional this year, and in preparation I have been documenting my hours through a tracker with supporting emails, photos, etc. I do not think I will find it difficult to meet the 750 hour/50% of work time test. 

I realize the final answer is always "talk to an accountant" but does anyone see any flaws in my logic? Are there any implications of living in one of the units (e.g. prorate my time on building renovation)? 

Also is there a definitive guide to eligible activities? For example does education count?

Thanks for any guidance. 
 

Most Popular Reply

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244
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Tzvi Ausubel
  • Rental Property Investor
  • New York City, NY
66
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244
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Tzvi Ausubel
  • Rental Property Investor
  • New York City, NY
Replied

@Mike Y. Before you decide against using/ afraid to ask a CPA, take a look at the IRS Passive Activity Loss Audit Technique Guide here https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-mssp/pal.pdf.

  • Tzvi Ausubel
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