You want an accountant who can help you strategize and who is responsive when you want to know the consequences of the financial decisions you are making throughout the year.Good luck.

$1499 was the cost for the 3-day event.  

The simplest thing to do (at the risk of sounding like I'm teaching how to cheat) is to check the "material participation" box when entering a K1 into your tax software.

We purchased a property in early October and are placing it in service this week (mid November).We had intended to run a cost segregation study and try to accelerate depreciation which we can deduct against our W2 (assuming material participation).However, we have been reading through the IRS guidelines (eg publication 946 on Property Depreciation) and there seems to be the concept of "short year" which would mean that we can only deduct ~1.5/12 of a year's worth of depreciation in 2024.Is this correct or are there any different rules for STRs specifically?

Quote from @David Cherkowsky: Material Participation: Material participation is the key factor here.

We have one right now we are in where the borrowers loan has matured and they as part of the restructuring want to convert the loan to a 30 year fixed loan at 1/2 the interest rate of the current loan.

However, if you or your spouse can meet the Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) requirements by working over your w2 hours in real estate and materially participating, the rental losses could offset your active income.

Compare those owners with younger owners who have higher incomes and more desire to build large reserves for the future with the older folks who won't see the future and you can see the problem.

However, as W2 earners, these losses are considered passive and can only offset passive income unless you or your spouse qualify as a Real Estate Professional (REPS) by meeting the 750-hour and material participation requirements or STR is used.

You won't be an expert in all of the trades.