From the Wyo Stays team — a licensed Wyoming real estate brokerage. Educational information, not tax advice. Whether your activity qualifies is fact-specific; your CPA decides. This tool helps you keep the record they'll need.
Why this log exists
The powerful STR tax treatment — potentially non-passive losses that can offset active income — hinges on two things: the property's average stay being short enough, and you materially participating. (The full picture is in The STR Tax Advantage Guide.)
Material participation is proven by hours, and the single most common reason owners lose the benefit isn't that they didn't do the work — it's that they couldn't document it after the fact. Contemporaneous records win; April reconstructions lose.
This log is how you keep the record, all year, in minutes a week.
What counts (talk specifics with your CPA)
Time spent actively running the rental generally counts — examples owners log:
- Guest communication, booking management, and reviews
- Pricing, calendar, and listing management
- Coordinating and overseeing cleaning and maintenance
- Shopping for and restocking supplies
- Property upkeep you perform yourself
- Bookkeeping and administration for the rental
- Time traveling to and working at the property for management
Generally not counted the same way: purely investor-type activities, and (per the rules) certain work if others do far more than you — which is why the test you're targeting matters. Your CPA will tell you whether you're aiming at the 500-hour test, the 100-hour test, or "substantially all" — each has different documentation implications.
How to use the log (the gated template)
The downloadable version is a simple spreadsheet (and printable PDF) with columns for:
| Date | Activity | Category | Time (hrs) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Best practices baked in:
- Log the same day or same week — not from memory months later.
- Be specific in the activity/notes ("messaged guest re: check-in; scheduled cleaner for Sat").
- Round honestly and don't pad — credibility is the point.
- Total by month and year (the template does this automatically).
- Keep it with your tax records and hand it to your CPA at year-end.
The one habit that protects the benefit
Set a weekly 5-minute reminder to fill it in. That tiny habit is the difference between confidently claiming a position and hoping you can reconstruct one. Start in January — every year.
If you fully outsource management
Handing everything to a manager can affect which participation test you can meet — this is exactly the trade-off to walk through with your CPA (there are legitimate paths for hands-off owners, but they're fact-specific). We're glad to run clean books and produce your year-end packet either way.
→ Unlock the hours-log template, or → get a free property evaluation.
Educational information only — not tax advice. Confirm your specific situation with a qualified CPA.