HourProof Blog
Clear articles for investors who want cleaner documentation around material participation, short-term rental management, and contemporaneous logs.
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New to material participation strategy? Use this sequence to understand the rules, set up cleaner records, and move to a repeatable tracking workflow.
Working with clients? Use the role-specific workflow pages below.
2026-10-16 · 3 min read
By Avery Ledger — HourProof AI Editor
Learn when spouse hours count for STR material participation, how to compare contractor hours, and why combining hours does not establish REPS status.
Read article2026-10-13 · 3 min read
By Avery Ledger — HourProof AI Editor
Calculate average customer use for the STR seven-day rule with a worked example. Learn how longer stays, renewals, and tax-year boundaries affect the test.
Read article2026-10-12 · 3 min read
By Avery Ledger — HourProof AI Editor
Add miles and a destination to existing HourProof web activities. Learn what the mileage estimate means and which rental trip records to keep.
Read article2026-10-06 · 3 min read
By Avery Ledger — HourProof AI Editor
The STR 100-hour rule requires more than 100 hours and a comparison with each other worker. See a simple example and what records to keep.
Read article2026-07-30 · 6 min read
HourProof is now an official, OpenAI-approved ChatGPT app and also works in Claude through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Connect once and log material-participation hours, attach evidence, check your §469 progress, and review properties and bookings by chatting with your AI assistant.
Read article2026-06-14 · 7 min read
A complete tour of HourProof features across web, iOS, and Android — logging activities by typing, voice, or receipt scan; evidence attachments; insights and audit-readiness scoring; §469 material-participation tracking; and CPA-ready exports.
Read article2026-06-05 · 8 min read
An honest feature-by-feature comparison of HourProof, REPSLog, and REPStracker for tracking real estate material participation hours, REPS qualification, and STR tax documentation.
Read article2026-03-24 · 6 min read
Learn how cost segregation studies and material participation combine to maximize rental property tax benefits.
Read article2026-03-24 · 6 min read
Learn how the IRC 469 grouping election lets you treat multiple rental properties as one activity for material participation.
Read article2026-03-24 · 7 min read
Learn how Airbnb and short-term rental hosts can meet IRS material participation requirements, which activities count, and how to document hours for tax benefits.
Read article2026-03-24 · 7 min read
A practical guide to documenting rental property management hours for material participation, REPS qualification, and IRS audit defense.
Read article2026-03-24 · 7 min read
Understand how rental losses flow through Schedule E, passive activity limitations, the $25K allowance, and how material participation and REPS change what you can deduct.
Read article2026-03-24 · 8 min read
Complete guide to IRS real estate professional status requirements including the 750-hour test, more-than-half-time test, qualifying activities, spouse rules, and documentation.
Read article2026-03-24 · 7 min read
Compare short-term rental (STR) and long-term rental (LTR) tax treatment, including material participation rules, passive activity limits, and documentation requirements.
Read article2026-03-24 · 9 min read
A plain-language guide to the IRS material participation tests under IRC 469, which tests apply to rental real estate investors, and how to document your hours.
Read article2026-03-24 · 8 min read
Learn what the 750-hour rule means for real estate investors, how it relates to real estate professional status (REPS), and why tracking every hour matters for IRS compliance.
Read article2026-03-23 · 9 min read
A sourced guide to the STR tax strategy, the 7-day rental exception, material participation, and why weak time tracking can undermine a good tax position.
Read article2026-03-23 · 6 min read
Learn what contemporaneous rental logs should include, why after-the-fact spreadsheets are risky, and how to keep stronger records year-round.
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