A good baseline is to calculate material costs (e.g., $300 for paint and supplies) and add a fair hourly rate for labor.

Also, you can't know how the cost of materials could fluctuate over your project time, so consider purchasing any materials upfront so you can stick to your budget. 

What is the best way that you have found to tell them that you need labor & materials separate, so at tax time you can send them a 1099 for labor?

Is my out of box thinking not make sense and be a waste of everyone's time?

Looking for suggestions on any specific building materials, fixtures, accessories, furniture, and tech for a STR.  

Materials have increased more than 20% in the last 5-8 years.

It has been frustrating but it also is a positive as I now can quickly know what deals to not even waste time on analyzing. 

- Run a cost segregation study on this property in 2024 and you might have $100k on line 18...Without diving too deep on this post - If you run this scenario as a real estate professional while materially participating in the property, You'll be able to reduce your's and your spouses taxable income that year... 

Additionally, I created MEC (Material Estimator Calculator), a unique residential renovation software that automatically calculates a bill of materials (BOM) based on the property’s condition.Overall, I’m thrilled to escape the Seattle rain and connect with fellow investors here in Arizona.

You should split the costs - labor and materials together.