Can I Use the STR 100-Hour Test If My Cleaner Works More Hours?
A focused answer for business owners and rental-property owners.
The direct answer
If another individual works more qualifying hours than you, the more-than-100-hours comparison test is not satisfied on those facts. More than 100 owner hours by itself does not meet both parts of that test.
How to evaluate your situation
Compare individuals, rather than treating a management company’s entire staff as one person without analysis. Obtain records showing who performed the work and for how long. The comparison can involve cleaners, managers, co-hosts and others, not only owners. Another material-participation test may be available, but it must be evaluated on its own terms. Do not inflate owner hours or ignore outsourced work to rescue a preferred result. Before ordering a study based on a projected nonpassive loss, analyze activity classification and participation using realistic records. A cost segregation study changes depreciation classification; it does not fix insufficient participation.
Hypothetical example
An owner has 140 qualifying hours and one cleaner has 180. The owner does not pass the more-than-100-hours comparison test using those figures. If the property has two cleaners with different hours, each person’s involvement is evaluated instead of assuming an unsupported total.
Records to gather
- Individual worker logs
- invoices
- management agreement
- owner and spouse records
- activity grouping history
Related question
Does using any cleaner automatically make the activity passive?
No. Outsourcing does not itself decide the result. Apply the available material-participation tests to the actual participation and the activity’s classification.
Source and next step
Updated September 30, 2026. This general federal tax discussion does not decide an individual filing position. Apply the current instructions for the actual tax year and your complete facts.
Review the related AE service and bring the listed records to a discovery call.
AE engagement pricing
$7,800 standard advisory engagement. No required recurring annual planning fee. Two $3,900 payments, 30 days apart. Returns, amendments, cost segregation and additional services are separately scoped. See published pricing for the service you need.
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