Nice to see that you are active in the forums.

There are several different types of income in the US tax code.Two main types are “active income” and “passive income".Active income is money you earn from working, such as wages from a W-2 job or income from running a business.Passive income is money you earn from investments like real estate, stocks, or rental income from your RE portfolio where you earn $ without actively working.Normally, you can't use passive losses (like losses from real estate investments) to offset active income like your salary from a W-2 job.That is unless you are an RE Pro.The reality is, that Real Estate Pro status is just a filing status similar to filing married or jointly.And if you are a real estate professional you CAN use passive real estate losses to offset active income from other sources.To qualify as an RE Pro you must:1.

Readers should seek professional advice.

@Kevin Collins well I apologize if it comes off condescending, it is difficult to translate 'tone' in a forum but at the end of the day you are in a forum seeking out advice...

Readers should seek professional advice.

Gita,At least the way I prefer to do things is to only run accrual based accounting activity on my day to day operations.

It is not a set it and forget it thing though, you'll still need to be active and review monthly statements and manage things to make sure everything is running smoothly. 

Readers should seek professional advice.

I keep coming across posters asking for advice on how to “scale” their investment or business activities.  

Hi Everyone,I am looking to get started with doing rental arbitrage with my cousin who is a Green Card holder, however, I am on a H1B Visa which restricts my ability to earn income "actively".