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Real Estate Professional Status Hours Tracker

Do your hours pass the 750-hour test and the more-than-half test for real estate professional status?

Your numbers

Result

Likely meets REPS

Your real estate hours800
Your other work hours0
Share of work time in real estate100%
Hours still needed for 7500
Rental participation hours (you and spouse)700
  • 750-hour test: met with 800 hours. You need more than 750.
  • More-than-half test: met. 100% of your work time is in real estate.
  • Rental material participation (500-hour test): met with 700 hours.
  • On a joint return, only your own hours count for the two REPS tests. Spouse hours count for material participation only.

Tip. Educational estimate with the assumptions listed on this page. Not tax, legal, or investment advice.

Assumptions

  • Hours are for one tax year and are your own. On a joint return, one spouse must pass both REPS tests alone.
  • Real estate hours count only in real property businesses where you materially participate. Work as an employee counts only if you own 5% or more of the employer.
  • Rental material participation uses the 500-hour test and counts your spouse's hours. If you own several rentals, it assumes you elect to treat them as one activity.
  • Investor work, such as reading statements or researching deals you do not run, is left out.

Hours log

Log each block of work with the date and task. Totals by activity show below the table. Your entries stay in this browser tab only.

Explore the numbers

Examples

Load a scenario, then change one input at a time.

Example 1

Full-time landlord

800 real estate hours and no other job.

Result

Likely meets REPS

Example 2

W-2 plus rentals

400 rental hours next to a 2,000-hour job.

Result

Likely does not meet REPS

Example 3

Agent with rentals

Agent hours pass, rental hours need a spouse.

Result

Likely meets REPS

What this calculates

Free REPS hours tracker. Log hours by activity to test the 750-hour rule, the more-than-half rule and rental material participation.

How to use it

  1. Total your hours from a calendar, emails, and receipts. Do not guess.
  2. Put rental work in the first two lines and other real estate businesses in the third.
  3. Enter every other work hour, including a W-2 job. A full-time job is about 2,000 hours.
  4. Use the log below to record each block of work as it happens.

Common mistakes

  • Counting a spouse's hours toward the 750-hour test on a joint return.
  • Keeping a full-time W-2 job and still claiming more than half of work time in real estate.
  • Rebuilding the log at year end instead of logging as you go.
  • Counting education, travel time, or investor tasks as real estate work.

Formula

Real estate hours = rental management + repairs + other real estate business. REPS needs more than 750 real estate hours AND real estate hours greater than all other work hours.

How real estate professional status is tested

The two hour tests

Real estate professional status, or REPS, comes from IRC Section 469(c)(7). IRS Publication 925 lists two tests. More than half of the personal services you perform in all trades or businesses must be in real property businesses where you materially participate. You must also perform more than 750 hours of services in those businesses during the year.

Both tests must be met each year. If you file a joint return, one spouse has to meet both tests alone. You cannot add your spouse's hours to reach 750.

Why REPS matters

Rental income and losses are normally passive. Passive losses can only offset passive income, so a large paper loss from depreciation or cost segregation often sits unused. If you qualify for REPS and materially participate in your rentals, those losses can offset other income, such as a spouse's wages or business profit.

Material participation in the rentals

Passing the hour tests is not the last step. You also need to materially participate in the rental activity. The simplest test is more than 500 hours in the year. Here your spouse's hours do count. Most owners with more than one rental make an election to treat all rentals as one activity, so the hours add up across properties. Ask your CPA about that election before you file.

How to use this tracker

Enter your yearly hours by activity at the top. The result shows the 750-hour test, the more-than-half test, and the 500-hour rental test, with the hours you are short. Then use the log to record each day of work with the date, activity, and task. Download it as a CSV or print it. A dated log made during the year is much stronger than a summary made later.

Who usually qualifies

People who work full time in real estate, such as agents, property managers, developers, and full-time landlords, can meet the tests. People with a full-time W-2 job almost never can, because their other work is about 2,000 hours. For them, the short-term rental rules are often the better path. The STR loophole qualifier on this site checks that path.

FAQ

How many hours do I need for real estate professional status?

More than 750 hours in real property businesses where you materially participate, and those hours must be more than half of all your work hours in the year.

Can I qualify with a full-time job?

It is very hard. A full-time job is about 2,000 hours, so you would need more than 2,000 real estate hours as well. Most W-2 earners look at the short-term rental rules instead.

Do my spouse's hours count?

Not for the two REPS tests on a joint return. One spouse must pass both alone. Spouse hours do count toward material participation in the rental activity.

What activities count toward the 750 hours?

Work in real property businesses you materially participate in, such as managing, leasing, repairing, developing, or brokering. Investor tasks, like reviewing statements, generally do not count.

What proof do I need?

A log made during the year with dates, tasks, and hours, backed by calendars, emails, invoices, and mileage records.

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