At the same time as final regulations were issued under §199A, the IRS issued a proposed revenue procedure that would provide for a safe harbor rule for treating a rental as a trade or business for §199A purposes in Notice 2019-07.

Although issued as a proposed revenue procedure, the IRS provided that taxpayer may rely on this safe harbor:

The proposed revenue procedure is proposed to apply generally to taxpayers with taxable years ending after December 31, 2017.

Until such time that the proposed revenue procedure is published in final form, taxpayers may use the safe harbor described in the proposed revenue procedure for purposes of determining when a rental real estate enterprise may be treated as a trade or business solely for purposes of section 199A.

Even if a taxpayer’s rental does not meet the safe harbor tests, the taxpayer may still be able to treat the rental as a trade or business if it meets the definition of Reg. §1.199A-1(b)(14). As well, the safe harbor only applies for purposes of §199A.

The proposed revenue procedure offers the following justification for its issuance:

The Treasury Department and the IRS are aware that whether a rental real estate enterprise is a trade or business for purposes of section 199A is the subject of uncertainty for some taxpayers. To help mitigate this uncertainty, this proposed revenue procedure provides a safe harbor for treating a rental real estate enterprise as a trade or business solely for purposes of the section 199A deduction.

Relevant passthrough entities (partnerships, S corporations, trusts and estates, referred to as RPEs) can use this test as well as individuals.

The proposed revenue procedure defines a real estate enterprise which is used for testing purposes under this proposed procedure. That definition provides:

Solely for purposes of this safe harbor, a rental real estate enterprise is defined as an interest in real property held for the production of rents and may consist of an interest in multiple properties. The individual or RPE relying on this revenue procedure must hold the interest directly or through an entity disregarded as an entity separate from its owner under § 301.7701-3. Taxpayers must either treat each property held for the production of rents as a separate enterprise or treat all similar properties held for the production of rents (with the exception of those described in paragraph .05 of this section) as a single enterprise. Commercial and residential real estate may not be part of the same enterprise. Taxpayers may not vary this treatment from year-to-year unless there has been a significant change in facts and circumstances.

Three requirements must be satisfied during a taxable year for a real estate enterprise to meet the safe harbor test to be treated as a trade or business. These requirements are:

Separate books and records are maintained to reflect income and expenses for each rental real estate enterprise;
For taxable years beginning prior to January 1, 2023, 250 or more hours of rental services are performed (as described in this revenue procedure) per year with respect to the rental enterprise. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2022, in any three of the five consecutive taxable years that end with the taxable year (or in each year for an enterprise held for less than five years), 250 or more hours of rental services are performed (as described in this revenue procedure) per year with respect to the rental real estate enterprise; and
The taxpayer maintains contemporaneous records, including time reports, logs, or similar documents, regarding the following: (i) hours of all services performed; (ii) description of all services performed; (iii) dates on which such services were performed; and (iv) who performed the services. Such records are to be made available for inspection at the request of the IRS. The contemporaneous records requirement will not apply to taxable years beginning prior to January 1, 2019.

Rental services for purposes of the 250-hour test are defined as follows:

Rental services for purpose of this revenue procedure include: (i) advertising to rent or lease the real estate; (ii) negotiating and executing leases; (iii) verifying information contained in prospective tenant applications; (iv) collection of rent; (v) daily operation, maintenance, and repair of the property; (vi) management of the real estate; (vii) purchase of materials; and (viii) supervision of employees and independent contractors. Rental services may be performed by owners or by employees, agents, and/or independent contractors of the owners. The term rental services does not include financial or investment management activities, such as arranging financing; procuring property; studying and reviewing financial statements or reports on operations; planning, managing, or constructing long-term capital improvements; or hours spent traveling to and from the real estate.

Certain types of rental will not qualify to use this safe harbor.

Real estate used by the taxpayer (including an owner or beneficiary of an RPE relying on this safe harbor) as a residence for any part of the year under section 280A is not eligible for this safe harbor. Real estate rented or leased under a triple net lease is also not eligible for this safe harbor. For purposes of this revenue procedure, a triple net lease includes a lease agreement that requires the tenant or lessee to pay taxes, fees, and insurance, and to be responsible for maintenance activities for a property in addition to rent and utilities. This includes a lease agreement that requires the tenant or lessee to pay a portion of the taxes, fees, and insurance, and to be responsible for maintenance activities allocable to the portion of the property rented by the tenant.

The taxpayer must sign and include a statement attached to the tax return in order to make use of this safe harbor:

A taxpayer or RPE must include a statement attached to the return on which it claims the section 199A deduction or passes through section 199A information that the requirements in Section 3.03 of this revenue procedure have been satisfied. The statement must be signed by the taxpayer, or an authorized representative of an eligible taxpayer or RPE, which states: “Under penalties of perjury, I (we) declare that I (we) have examined the statement, and, to the best of my (our) knowledge and belief, the statement contains all the relevant facts relating to the revenue procedure, and such facts are true, correct, and complete.” The individual or individuals who sign must have personal knowledge of the facts and circumstances related to the statement.