Material Participation
Whether your hours count decides whether rental losses can offset your other income. We track participation the way the IRS tests it — across the whole year, not reconstructed in April.
Pismo Beach, California · An Enrolled Agent Practice
Tax expertise built for residential rental property owners.
Your rentals are graded on rules most preparers never touch — material participation, real estate professional status, depreciation, Schedule E. This practice lives in exactly those rules: tax preparation, planning, and IRS representation by an Enrolled Agent authorized to practice before the IRS.
Evenings & weekends · In-person appointments on Price Street · The first 15 minutes are free
Material Participation
Do your hours count? Everything turns on it.
Real Estate Professional Status
The REPs tests, planned before December — not discovered in April.
Depreciation Schedules
Every property, on a schedule that stays right.
Schedule E
The page your rentals live on, done properly.
The Hours Bank · Our Signature Tool
Your hours are the whole ballgame. Bank them like it.
Material participation is an hours test. The IRS sorts your landlord week into hours that count — running your rentals — and hours that don’t — acting as an investor. Build a week below and watch the bank sort it the same way.
A Landlord’s Week
Sample data Counts 6.0
Counts 4.0
Counts 3.0
Counts 2.0
Counts 2.0
Doesn’t 3.0
Doesn’t 2.0
Doesn’t 2.0
Total week: 24.0 hrs doing landlord things — but the IRS only banks some of them.
The Bank
Sample data Counts toward participation 17.0 hrs / week
Investor-type — doesn’t count 7.0 hrs / week
At this pace: 850 counted hrs / year (counted hours × 50 weeks)
The 100-hour test850 / 100
Material participation: more than 100 hours in the activity — and no one else participates more than you.
The 750-hour REPs line850 / 750
Real estate professional status: 750+ hours in real property work — and more than half of everything you work.
An educational illustration on sample data — not tax advice, and not a determination of anyone’s status. The real tests are applied to your full year and your full facts.
Services Flagship specialty REPs Per property Every line
One specialty up front. A full practice behind it.
The rental core is why owners find us. The practice around it — preparation, planning, representation — is why they stay.
Real Estate Professional Status
REPs can change how your rental losses are treated — if you clear the 750-hour test, spend more than half your working time in real property, and materially participate. Three tests, one plan, tracked in real time.
Depreciation Schedules
Placed-in-service dates, repairs versus capitalization, additions and dispositions — your depreciation schedules built right and kept current, property by property, year after year.
Schedule E
The page your rentals live on: rents, expenses, and the passive-activity rules applied correctly on the return — so the Schedule E you file is the one your records can defend.
The general practice
Tax Preparation
Individual and small-business returns, prepared with your rental picture in full view.
Tax Planning
Proactive planning through the year — purchases, sales, and decisions weighed before they are final.
IRS Representation
Representation before the IRS by an Enrolled Agent — audits and disputes handled by the practice, not by you alone.
Prior-Year Filings
Unfiled or amended prior years brought current, in order, one return at a time.
Tax Notices
A letter from the IRS is not a verdict. We read it, respond to it, and track it to resolution.
Working Together 01 02 03 04
Built around a landlord’s actual life.
Start with 15 free minutes
Call or email and take the free 15-minute consultation — your rentals, your notice, or your last return, and a straight read on what we would do first. Bring the fee question too; you’ll get a straight answer before any work begins.
Start here →Better yet, see us in person
Some conversations deserve a table, not a phone. In-person appointments are available at our office on Price Street in Pismo Beach — sit down, spread out the returns, and map the year.
575 Price Street · Pismo Beach, CA 93449
Your portal on TaxDome
Documents, messages, and filings in one client portal — send the lease, the 1099, the IRS letter, whenever the day gives you a minute. No shoebox required.
Open the client portal →Hours that fit your life
Your rentals don’t keep office hours, so neither do we. Weekday evenings and full weekends — the hours working landlords can actually use.
Monday – Friday · 5:00 – 8:00 PM
Saturday – Sunday · 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
The Practice
One practice. One specialty. Personal attention.
At Pismo Tax Solutions, we believe that every client deserves personalized attention and a tailored approach to their tax needs. We take the time to understand each client’s unique situation and provide customized solutions that meet their specific needs.
Pismo Tax Solutions is an Enrolled Agent practice: professional tax preparation, planning, and IRS representation by an Enrolled Agent authorized to practice before the IRS. When a letter arrives from the IRS, you don’t face it alone — representation is part of the practice, not an add-on.
And the specialty is the point. A generalist sees a rental property as a few extra lines on a return. Here, your rentals are the return — participation tracked, depreciation scheduled, Schedule E built to be defended.
Free 15-Minute Consultation Questions, Answered Straight
What landlords ask us first.
I own rental property. What exactly do you specialize in?
The four corners of a landlord’s tax life: material participation, real estate professional status (REPs), depreciation schedules, and Schedule E — the rules that decide how your properties are reported and whether your rental losses can work for you.
What is material participation — and why does it matter so much?
The IRS tests whether you materially participate in your rentals, largely by the hours you spend running them. Participate materially and your rental results are treated as non-passive; fall short and losses can be suspended until you sell. It is why hours matter all year, not just at filing time — try the Hours Bank above to see which hours count.
Can you represent me before the IRS?
Yes. This is an Enrolled Agent practice — professional tax preparation, planning, and IRS representation by an Enrolled Agent authorized to practice before the IRS. Audits, notices, and disputes are handled by the practice, start to finish.
I received a tax notice. What should I do?
Don’t ignore it, and don’t panic. Tax notices are part of the practice here: bring the letter to your free 15-minute consultation and we will read it with you, explain what the IRS is actually asking, and map the response. Letters run on deadlines, so sooner is better.
I’m behind on prior years. Can we fix that?
Yes — prior-year filings are a standard part of the practice. We bring unfiled or amended years current, in order, so each return builds on the last one.
When can I actually reach you?
When landlords are free: Monday to Friday, 5:00–8:00 PM, and Saturday to Sunday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM. In-person appointments are available at 575 Price Street in Pismo Beach — and every engagement starts with a free 15-minute consultation by phone or email.
What will this cost?
Every engagement starts with a free 15-minute consultation — bring your questions, including the fee question, and get a straight answer before any work begins.
Still deciding?
That’s what the free 15 minutes are for. Bring your hardest question — we’ll answer it straight, and you’ll know exactly where you stand.
Free 15-Minute Consultation Free 15-Minute Consultation
Start with fifteen free minutes.
Your rentals, your notice, or your last return — bring the question. You’ll get a straight read on what to do first, and what it means for the year ahead.
Monday – Friday · 5:00 – 8:00 PM Saturday – Sunday · 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM 575 Price Street · Pismo Beach, CA 93449