Plain-English guides to IRC §469 material participation, audit defense, and the recordkeeping that holds up.
You've heard the short-term rental tax pitch. This series walks through what it actually takes to defend it—the hours, the records, and the traps that quietly disqualify people who did the work.
Short Term RentalsFull-service managers assume they disqualify their owners from the STR loophole. The regulation says something different — and proving it requires zero change to how you run your business.
Audit DefenseTax Court judges aren't forensic accountants. They're people who've written checks and done Saturday chores—and a fake log always fails the test of ordinary life.
Audit DefenseWhen the audit goes bad, everyone reaches for the same defense—"my accountant prepared it." The courts have heard it before, and the reason it fails should change how you keep records.
Short Term RentalsPohoski v. Commissioner is required reading for every STR owner with a cleaner, co-host, or property manager—because the evidence that sank it was the evidence nobody kept.
Short Term RentalsMirch v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2025-128) is the freshest warning in the case law—and it torched the exact logging method most STR owners use.
Audit DefenseWhat a pair of §469 cases reveals about the evidence that actually wins a material participation fight—and the evidence that doesn't exist when you need it.
Audit DefenseThe four marks of a defensible position—contemporaneous, specific, bounded denominator, tamper-evident—and why a spreadsheet can't produce them. The series conclusion. Part 6 of the §469 Problem Series.
Short Term RentalsThe best STR markets are rarely where you live, and the obvious fix—a full-service manager—can quietly destroy the whole benefit. The way through is separating labor from participation. Part 5 of the §469 Problem Series.
Material ParticipationUnder the 100-hour test your competition isn't everyone combined—it's the single person who did the most, usually the cleaner. The fix changes the denominator, and it's just good operations. Part 4 of the §469 Problem Series.