Model both sides
The best planning answer often comes from comparing scenarios, not maximizing one deduction in isolation.
Free tax planning tool
STR/REPS Passive-Loss Unlocker
Put average stay, services, owner and spouse hours, participation, REPS hours, and loss limitations into one decision screen.
No account required Educational, not individualized advice
Activity classification screen
Not treated as rental
Based on entered average stay/services only
Material participation screen
Appears met
600 owner-plus-spouse activity hours
REPS screen
Appears met
900 real-estate hours; 60% of entered work hours
Passive-character screen
Appears nonpassive
$120,000 entered loss is not a deductible-loss calculation
A classification result cannot bypass basis and at-risk limits. No deductible-loss amount is calculated here.
Personal-use limitations are not tested because the Section 280A comparison requires both personal-use days and fair-rental days.
Review classification and logsEducational estimate, updated August 23, 2026. This screen classifies selected passive-activity facts only; it does not calculate a deductible loss. It omits grouping elections, all seven participation tests, investor hours, management-hour restrictions, employee rules, the active-participation special allowance, personal-use allocation, basis, at-risk, excess-business-loss, NOL, and state limitations.
How to use the result
Move from estimate to decision
Run alternatives, identify the assumptions driving the difference, and save the documents needed to validate the final treatment.
Check interaction effects
Income, deductions, credits, payroll, retirement, and state rules can move together.
Validate before filing
Use the result to focus review. Do not treat a screening model as a completed return.
Take the next planning step
Request a planning follow-up
Core results are free and ungated. Share your contact information only if you want Taxstra to follow up about the planning questions this tool surfaced.
Frequently asked questions
The calculator is intentionally explicit about what it does and does not decide.
Is every short-term rental nonpassive?
No. Average stay can take an activity outside the rental-activity definition, but the owner must still materially participate for the activity to be nonpassive.
Do spouse hours count?
Spouse participation can count for material participation. Spouse hours do not combine to satisfy one spouse’s 750-hour and more-than-half REPS tests.
Does nonpassive mean the whole loss is deductible?
No. Basis, at-risk, excess-business-loss, personal-use, business-use, and other limits may still suspend or reduce the loss.