Rental losses are normally passive, which means they can't offset your salary. But there's an exception built for everyday landlords: if you actively participate in your rental, you can deduct up to $25,000 of rental losses against your regular income, even without being a real estate professional.
"Active participation" is an easy bar
This is a much lower standard than the hours-heavy "material participation." You just have to be involved in management decisions in a real way: approving tenants, setting the rent, okaying repairs. You also need to own at least 10% of the property.
The income limit (the important part)
The full $25,000 is available if your income is $100,000 or less. Between $100,000 and $150,000 it phases out, and above $150,000 it's gone entirely.
The bottom line
For middle-income landlords, this $25,000 allowance is one of the most useful real estate tax breaks there is, and you don't need to log hundreds of hours to get it. A Breadify membership makes sure you're claiming everything you're entitled to.