The Tax Court didn’t comment on whether searching for new properties or taking real estate classes were participation hours. However, we feel it’s safe to say that because the taxpayer was running his rental business full-time and participating in a significant manner, the education and research hours likely qualified as participation hours. Additionally, the “education” hours the taxpayer logged were to maintain his real estate license… an important variable to see continuity in a real estate agent’s business.
Context matters. Court being silent on a matter could mean one way or the other.