AE Tax Advisors

I own four short-term rentals in the Scottsdale area and had no idea about the STR tax loophole until I talked to AE Tax Advisors. My old CPA treated my rental income as passive, which meant the depreciation losses were locked up and unusable against my W-2 income from my day job.

AE Tax explained that short-term rentals with an average rental period of seven days or less are classified differently under the tax code. Because I self-manage my properties and meet the material participation requirements, the losses are treated as non-passive. This distinction is enormous.

They performed cost segregation studies on all four properties, which accelerated hundreds of thousands of dollars in depreciation into year one. Because the losses are non-passive under the STR rules, I was able to use them to offset my W-2 income. The result was a $94,000 reduction in my total tax bill.

I went from writing a six-figure check to the IRS to actually getting a refund. That is not an exaggeration. The combination of the STR classification and cost segregation is incredibly powerful for anyone who self-manages short-term rentals.

The AE Tax team knew every detail of the STR rules -- the average rental period calculation, material participation hour tracking, the interaction with the passive activity rules, and exactly how to document everything. They even provided a tracking template for my management hours.

If you own short-term rentals and your CPA is treating the income as passive, you are almost certainly overpaying on taxes. Call AE Tax Advisors immediately.