Disclaimer: ArrivHQ does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. The information in this article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional guidance. Consult a qualified tax professional before making decisions based on your specific situation.

Overview

Work logs are the primary mechanism for documenting the time you spend managing your short-term rental properties. This documentation is critical for two IRS requirements that many STR hosts rely on:

  • Material participation — To deduct rental losses against other income, you generally must materially participate in the rental activity. The most commonly used test requires more than 500 hours of participation during the tax year, or more hours than any other individual.
  • Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) — If you qualify as a real estate professional, your rental activities are not subject to the passive activity loss rules. REPS requires at least 750 hours in real property trades or businesses and more time in real estate than in any other profession.

The IRS expects contemporaneous records — logs created at or near the time the work occurred — rather than records reconstructed after the fact. ArrivHQ timestamps every work log entry when you create it, building the kind of detailed, real-time documentation that withstands scrutiny.

How it works

  1. Navigate to Financials > Work Logs in the left sidebar.
  2. Click Log work to create a new entry.
  3. Fill in the required fields: activity category, hours, and date. Optionally assign the entry to a property, reservation, and add a description.
  4. Click Log work to save.
  5. Your entries appear in a searchable, filterable list view sorted by date.

As you log hours throughout the year, ArrivHQ tracks your cumulative total. The Today dashboard displays your year-to-date hours alongside the 750-hour REPS target so you can see at a glance where you stand.

Limits & requirements

  • Work log tracking is available on all paid plans (Comply, Host, and Portfolio).
  • There is no limit on the number of work log entries you can create.
  • Hours must be a positive number. You can log in increments as small as 0.25 hours (15 minutes).
  • Each entry requires a category, hours amount, and date. Property, reservation, and description are optional.
  • The Comply and Host plans support one property. The Portfolio plan supports two or more, which is important if you need to aggregate hours across properties for REPS qualification.

FAQ

Why are work logs so important for REPS? The IRS places the burden of proof on the taxpayer to demonstrate they meet the 750-hour and other REPS requirements. Without detailed, contemporaneous logs, an IRS examiner can disallow the REPS election and reclassify your rental losses as passive. Work logs are the single most important piece of documentation for defending a REPS claim.

How often should I log my hours? Log your hours as close to the time you perform the work as possible — ideally the same day. Contemporaneous records carry significantly more weight with the IRS than logs created weeks or months later.

Does ArrivHQ tell me if I qualify for REPS? No. ArrivHQ tracks your hours and shows your year-to-date total against the 750-hour target, but it does not determine whether you qualify for REPS. That determination depends on your full tax situation and should be made with your CPA.

What counts as qualifying work? Activities directly related to managing, operating, or maintaining your rental properties generally qualify. This includes property management, maintenance, cleaning, guest communications, marketing, inspections, and similar tasks. See Activity Types for details on what qualifies.

Can team members log work hours? Yes. Any team member with the appropriate permissions can create work log entries. Each entry records which user created it.