Log Book Showed That Activities Were Of Investor Type.

The petitioners, a married couple, owned five rental properties and had a $30,146 net loss on the properties which they deducted in full. The IRS disallowed over $28,000 of the loss on the basis that the loss was a passive loss.  The court agreed with the IRS. The petitioners’ logbook, while showing that the petitioners spent 764 hours in rental activities during the tax year, illustrated that the work the petitioners performed were more akin to investor activities rather than material participation in the activity.  A management company was hired to manage four of the properties and a separate company was hired to find tenants and lease the other property.  The petitioners performed research activities with respect to investment opportunities.  Padilla v. Comr., T.C. Sum. Op. 2015-38.