What Is Real Estate Professional Status (REPS)?

If you belong to a higher income group and deal in real estate, obtaining Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) could become your secret weapon for managing taxes. With REPS, you can turn passive losses into active, ordinary losses that you can deduct, leading to substantial tax savings.

REPS: A Special Tax Category

So, what’s behind REPS, and how can you earn it? Think of REPS as a special tax category that lets you treat the income and losses from your real estate investments as business transactions. The prerequisites include two tests: the active participation test and the 500-hour test. The active participation test requires your substantial involvement in managing or operating the property.

Tax Return

500-Hour Test: The Key to REPS

The 500-hour test demands you commit at least 500 hours annually to your rental activities. By meeting both these criteria, you can attain REPS status and deduct your rental losses from other income. This move can considerably cut your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) when tax season arrives.

Seven Criteria for Active Participation

You are considered an active participant in an activity if you meet any of the following seven criteria:

  1. You’ve invested more than 500 hours in the activity during the tax year.
  2. Your involvement in the activity for the tax year is substantially all the participation in the activity by all people (including non-owners).
  3. You’ve spent more than 100 hours on the activity during the tax year, and your participation is not less than any other individual’s (including non-owners) in that year.
  4. The activity is a significant participation activity for the tax year, and your combined involvement in all such activities exceeds 500 hours.
  5. You’ve actively participated in the activity for any five tax years (whether or not consecutive) within the last 10 years.
  6. The activity is a personal service activity, and you’ve been an active participant for any three tax years (whether or not consecutive) before the tax year.
  7. Based on all facts and circumstances, you engage in the activity regularly, continuously, and substantially throughout the year.

Ready to Achieve REPS Status?

If this sounds like a challenge, think again. Contact us now and let us show you how we can help you achieve REPS status!