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December 7, 2019
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Safe Harbor for §199A Rentals

  • December 7, 2019
  • 18 replies
  • 97 views

I haven't read it yet, but hot off the press:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-19-07.pdf


.03 Safe harbor. Solely for the purposes of section 199A, a rental real estate enterprise will be treated as a trade or business if the following requirements are satisfied during the taxable year with respect to the rental real estate enterprise:

(A)  Separate books and records are maintained to reflect income and expenses for each rental real estate enterprise;
(B)  For taxable years beginning prior to January 1, 2023, 250 or more hours of rental services are performed (as described in
this revenue procedure) per year with respect to the rental enterprise. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2022, in
any three of the five consecutive taxable years that end with the taxable year (or in each year for an enterprise held for less than five years), 250 or more hours of rental services are performed (as described in this revenue procedure) per year with respect to the rental real estate enterprise; and
(C)  The taxpayer maintains contemporaneous records, including time reports, logs, or similar documents, regarding the following: (i) hours of all services performed; (ii) description of all services performed; (iii) dates on which such services were performed; and (iv) who performed the services. Such records are to be made available for inspection at the request of the IRS. The contemporaneous records requirement will not apply to taxable years beginning prior to January 1, 2019.
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EDIT:  They also released the Final Regulations for §199A.
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Best answer by Ernie

Thanks Bill! I copied it to read further.

18 replies

IRonMaN
Level 15
December 7, 2019
Thanks - I hope it wasn't so hot that you burnt your hands taking it off of the press.
Slava Ukraini!
itonewbie
Level 15
December 7, 2019
Thanks, Bill!  Will read through this in more details.  Glad the IRS is providing a safe harbor for this.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Still an AllStar
Level 7
December 7, 2019
But the odd part:   Rental services may be performed by owners
or by employees, agents, and/or independent contractors of the owners.
WHAT:  My Property Manager's time counts as my time?!!  But he will not keep and send me a time log
December 7, 2019
Insist on the property manager keeping track of his time, or find a new property manager.
Level 7
December 7, 2019
Level 7
December 7, 2019
OMG:  Compliance time with 199A per Reg:  Estimated total annual reporting burden estimated average of 2.5 hours.
IRonMaN
Level 15
December 7, 2019
That’s government time.  Those of us in the real world perform the work in a fraction of that time.
Slava Ukraini!
Level 2
December 7, 2019
Clarification: question: a person has residential rentals AND farm land rentals. Taxpayer does meet the 250 hours worked on residential rentals, but only 12 hours worked in farm land rental (clearing brush,meetings with tenant,looking at the land).
Because taxpayer meets the 250 hours on residential rentals, do you think this 250 satisfies ALSO for farm rent?
December 7, 2019
It says that the properties must be "similar", and that Residential and Commercial are NOT part of the same "enterprise" for the 250 hours.  So in my opinion, rental of land would NOT be part of the same "enterprise" as residential for the 250 hours.
Level 2
December 7, 2019
thank you! I didn’t think about the rentals being different enterprises...