Maria, who owns a 50% interest in a restaurant, has been a material participant in the restaurant activity for the last 20 years. She retired from the restaurant at the end of last year and will not participate in the restaurant activity in the future. However, she continues to be a material participant in a retail store in which she is a 50% partner. The restaurant operations produce a loss for the current year, and Maria's share of the loss is $80,000. Her share of the income from the retail store is $150,000. She does not own interests in any other activities.
A) Maria cannot deduct the $80,000 loss from the restaurant because she is not a material participant.
B) Maria can offset the $80,000 loss against the $150,000 of income from the retail store.
C) Maria will not be able to deduct any losses from the restaurant until she has been retired for at least three years.
D) Assuming Maria continues to hold the interest in the restaurant, she will always treat the losses as active.
E) None of the above.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Maria can offset the $80,000 loss from the restaurant against the $150,000 income from the retail store because she meets the following criteria:

1. She was a material participant in the restaurant activity for the last 20 years, which means she was actively involved in managing the business.
2. She still is a material participant in the retail store activity, which means she is actively involved in managing that business as well.
3. She does not own interests in any other activities, so the restaurant and retail store are the only activities she's involved in.

Therefore, under the IRS rules for passive activity losses, Maria can use the losses from the restaurant activity to offset the income from the retail store activity.

Maria, Who Owns a 50% Interest in a Restaurant, Has