Section 199A deduction for passive investor in real estate? Diary or records need be kept for 2019?

[raylopez88]

There's a difference of opinion on this between me and a relative, both of us landlords, of the passive variety (but we could be active if we wanted to), meaning we are both retired and living on other income and the rental business, though a big part of our time, is not our 'real job' (we don't have real jobs, we're both retired and collect income).

My relative claims:  only active investors in real estate can claim the 20% Trump tax cut off the top of any rental income (i.e., Section 199A), I say not.  But even if we need to be active, do we need to check some box on the Schedule E?

Further, my understanding of the Section 199A rule is that for the tax year 2018, no diary or records of the time spent on real estate need be kept, to qualify for the Sec 199A deduction, but, going forward for 2019 and subsequent years, you need to do so, under the "safe harbor" provisions, discussed here:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2019/01/30/notice-2019-07-250-hour-requirement-what-it-mea...

You need 250 hours a year for your properties to qualify as a ""rental real estate enterprise" for taking advantage of section 199A.  My question is if you have a dozen homes, does the 250 hours count towards each house?  Or for all dozen homes?  Is it 250 hours total a year for all properties?  Or if you have a dozen properties do you need 12x250 hours? 

Thanks

[Rainman12]

1) Taxpayers must either treat:

• Each property held for the production of rents as a separate enterprise, or
• All similar properties held for the production of rents as a single rental real estate enterprise.

Commercial and residential real estate can’t be treated as part of the same enterprise. Taxpayers also aren’t allowed to vary their treatment of properties from year to year, unless there’s a significant change in facts and circumstances.

2) For tax years beginning after December 31, 2018, eligible taxpayers must maintain separate books and records for each rental real estate enterprise to keep track of each enterprise’s income and expenses. Taxpayers must also maintain contemporaneous records (including time  reports, logs, or similar documents) to establish:

• Hours spent on rental services for the enterprise, and
• Descriptions of all rental services performed, including the dates and who performed the  services.