Accidental landlords
A permanent change of station often means renting the house instead of selling. Now there’s Schedule E, depreciation, and records to keep.
For military families who rent out a former home
PCS orders made you a landlord. Your records should keep up.
Plain-English tools for the tax rules that follow a move: passive losses, the $25,000 allowance, REPS, and the clock on a tax-free home sale. Honest answers, including “you probably don’t need REPS.”
Free · Runs in your browser · Nothing you type is sent anywhere
Example household
Estimated allowance
$10,000
MAGI$130,000
Gap$12,000
Fictional example data · IRC 469(i) phaseout
The problem, simply
Four rules most military homeowners never planned for
Passive losses
Rental losses are usually “passive” under IRC 469. They generally can’t offset wages; unused losses carry forward.
The $25,000 allowance
Active participants can deduct up to $25,000, phasing out between $100,000 and $150,000 of modified AGI (IRC 469(i)). BAH, BAS and OHA aren’t taxable income (IRS Pub. 3), so many military households keep more than they expect.
REPS
Real estate professional status (IRC 469(c)(7)) needs 750+ hours and more than half of that person’s working time in real property. Hard with a full-time job elsewhere.
Honesty first
We never inflate hours. Ever.
Our tools never suggest an hours target and never fill in a log for you. Courts reject padded logs. Most people who run the Fit Check learn they don’t need REPS, and that’s the right answer.
How it works
Three steps, no sign-up
- 1
Check your fit
Enter MAGI, rental loss and doors. See your allowance, the gap, and an honest-hours ceiling.
- 2
Know your sale clock
Enter move-in, move-out and separation dates. See your sell-by dates with and without the military pause.
- 3
Take it to your CPA
Use the results as questions for a professional. They’re educational estimates, not advice.
A fact worth knowing
About 200,000 service members transition out of the military each year.
Source: DoD testimony, June 11, 2025; Congressional Research Service report R48114. Separation can start a countdown on a former home’s tax-free sale.
Open the Home-Sale ClockFAQ
Common questions
Is this tax advice?
No. Everything here is general education with simplified rules and example data. Confirm anything you act on with a CPA, enrolled agent, or tax attorney.
Do the calculators store what I type?
No. Both calculators run entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to us or saved.
Do I need REPS to deduct rental losses?
Often not. If your modified AGI is low enough, the $25,000 allowance under IRC 469(i) may cover your loss. The Fit Check shows how much.
What is the military pause on a home sale?
Service members on qualified official extended duty may elect to suspend the 5-year test period for up to 10 years (IRC 121(d)(9)). It stops when that duty ends, often at separation.
Why don’t you show testimonials?
Because we don’t have clients yet, and we won’t invent them.