As you know, these cordial debates are invaluable to tax pros because the Code is law, and the law can be (in some cases) interpreted many different ways. My point has/is/and will be that this is such a grey area (as to whether or not 199A will be inclusive of rental real estate), and that each practitioner will have his/her interpretation of this because, ESPECIALLY now based off the proposed guidelines, the IRS is deferring to IRC162 to define a TB.
This is not different than how it was before the TCJA came out, as in many instances a TB was undefined but reference to IRC162 was advised.
So if a practitioner was conservative in his/her approach to rentals as a business before TCJA, then continue on. There are those that practiced more aggressively, and a whole bunch in between.
To my point above, which has/is/and will be (until clear guidance is given) is that it's inappropriate for us tax professionals to draw a line in the sand say "this is how the law is written, it's clear" and because of this "x, y, & z types of properties or situations will not get the QBI". This is a grey area and tax pros, as well as their clients, have options that should be entertained based off of everyone's risk tolerance and individual tax positions.
There is no black and white here. No "yes" and "no" when it comes to properties, types or numbers, etc.
