Previous Page: Instructions - Line F Next Page: Instructions - Line H Use   to find additional occurrences of topic items.

taxmap/instr/i1040sc-006.htm#TXMP4c7330e3 Line G

If your business activity was not a rental activity and you met any of the material participation tests below or the exception for oil and gas applies (explained on page C-3), check the Yes box. Otherwise, check the No box. If you check the No box, this business is a passive activity. If you have a loss from this business, see Limit on losses on page C-3. If you have a profit from this business activity but have current year losses from other passive activities or you have prior year unallowed passive activity losses, see the Instructions for Form 8582.

taxmap/instr/i1040sc-006.htm#TXMP3ca3996a Material participation.

Participation, for purposes of the seven material participation tests listed on page C-3, generally includes any work you did in connection with an activity if you owned an interest in the activity at the time you did the work. The capacity in which you did the work does not matter. However, work is not treated as participation if it is work that an owner would not customarily do in the same type of activity and one of your main reasons for doing the work was to avoid the disallowance of losses or credits from the activity under the passive activity rules.

Work you did as an investor in an activity is not treated as participation unless you were directly involved in the day-to-day management or operations of the activity. Work done as an investor includes:

• Studying and reviewing financial statements or reports on the activity,
• Preparing or compiling summaries or analyses of the finances or operations of the activity for your own use, and
• Monitoring the finances or operations of the activity in a nonmanagerial capacity.

Participation by your spouse during the tax year in an activity you own can be counted as your participation in the activity. This applies even if your spouse did not own an interest in the activity and whether or not you and your spouse file a joint return. However, this does not apply if you and your spouse elect to have your business taxed as a qualified joint venture (see Husband-wife business on page C-1).

For purposes of the passive activity rules, you materially participated in the operation of this trade or business activity during 2007 if you met any of the following seven tests.

1. You participated in the activity for more than 500 hours during the tax year.
2. Your participation in the activity for the tax year was substantially all of the participation in the activity of all individuals (including individuals who did not own any interest in the activity) for the tax year.
3. You participated in the activity for more than 100 hours during the tax year, and you participated at least as much as any other person for the tax year. This includes individuals who did not own any interest in the activity.
4. The activity is a significant participation activity for the tax year, and you participated in all significant participation activities for more than 500 hours during the year. An activity is a significant participation activity if it involves the conduct of a trade or business, you participated in the activity for more than 100 hours during the tax year, and you did not materially participate under any of the material participation tests (other than this test 4).
5. You materially participated in the activity for any 5 of the prior 10 tax years.
6. The activity is a personal service activity in which you materially participated for any 3 prior tax years. A personal service activity is an activity that involves performing personal services in the fields of health, law, engineering, architecture, accounting, actuarial science, performing arts, consulting, or any other trade or business in which capital is not a material income-producing factor.
7. Based on all the facts and circumstances, you participated in the activity on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis for more than 100 hours during the tax year. Your participation in managing the activity does not count in determining if you meet this test if any person (except you) (a) received compensation for performing management services in connection with the activity or (b) spent more hours during the tax year than you spent performing management services in connection with the activity (regardless of whether the person was compensated for the services).

taxmap/instr/i1040sc-006.htm#TXMP3979b30d Rental of personal property.

A rental activity (such as long-term equipment leasing) is a passive activity even if you materially participated in the activity. However, if you met any of the five exceptions listed under Rental Activities in the Instructions for Form 8582, the rental of the property is not treated as a rental activity and the material participation rules above apply.

taxmap/instr/i1040sc-006.htm#TXMP05c391e8 Exception for oil and gas.

If you are filing Schedule C to report income and deductions from an oil or gas well in which you own a working interest directly or through an entity that does not limit your liability, check the Yes box. The activity of owning a working interest is not a passive activity, regardless of your participation.

taxmap/instr/i1040sc-006.htm#TXMP46035161 Limit on losses.

If you checked the No box and you have a loss from this business, you may have to use Form 8582 to figure your allowable loss, if any, to enter on Schedule C, line 31. Generally, you can deduct losses from passive activities only to the extent of income from passive activities. For details, see Pub. 925.

Previous Page:  Instructions - Line F Next Page:  Instructions - Line H Use   to find additional occurrences of topic items.