The Qualified Business Income deduction can affect taxpayers with income from sole proprietorships, farms, passthrough entities, certain rental activities, REITs, and publicly traded partnerships. Determining the available deduction, however, may require looking beyond the income reported on the return.
In Making Sense of the QBI Deduction, Jason Dinesen, EA, walks through the QBI rules and demonstrates how different items on a tax return can affect the calculation.
You'll learn how deductions associated with business income, such as the deduction for one-half of self-employment tax and certain self-employed deductions, can affect QBI. Jason also examines QBI losses, including how an overall negative QBI amount can carry forward to a future year.
The course then moves into higher-income situations, examining the 2026 thresholds and phase-in ranges, W-2 wage and asset limitations, and SSTBs. Additional topics include multiple businesses, aggregation, and rental real estate considerations.
With examples throughout the presentation, this course connects the QBI rules to situations tax professionals may encounter when preparing returns.
Recorded September 16, 2026
This course counts for 2 hours of IRS CE under the category of Federal Tax Law Related Matters.
Learning Objectives
After completing this course, participants should be able to:
- Recognize common sources of qualified business income.
- Identify adjustments that may affect the determination of QBI.
- Calculate the basic QBI deduction and recognize when additional limitations apply.
- Explain how business losses and prior-year negative QBI can affect the deduction.
- Identify the impact of income thresholds and SSTB status on QBI.
- Recognize QBI considerations associated with rental real estate.
About the presenter:
Jason Dinesen (EA, LPA) is a tax nerd, entrepreneur, tax expert, and a well-known presenter of continuing education courses.
Known for his sharp tax interpretations, he is one of the quickest to bring the analysis of the latest tax updates and IRS guidance to the professional community. Jason has coached over 200,000 accounting, tax, and HR professionals on various topics of accounting, individual taxation, corporate taxation, professional ethics, and much more.
He has presented dozens of webinars on Form 1099 (for 10 years on this subject!), marriage in the tax code, tax updates, the new Form W-4, payroll updates, filing status, tax credits, corporation and partnership taxation, and other issues relating to the modern-day setting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What adjustments can affect qualified business income?
QBI isn't always the same as the net income shown by the business. The course discusses adjustments associated with QBI items, including the deduction for one-half of self-employment tax, self-employed health insurance, and certain SEP and SIMPLE deductions.
Is QBI calculated separately for each business?
Yes. The presentation explains that QBI is calculated separately for each part of a taxpayer's Form 1040 that generates QBI. This becomes particularly important when taxable income exceeds the applicable thresholds.
Can rental real estate qualify for the QBI deduction?
Potentially. Jason explains that rental activity may generate QBI when the rental qualifies as a trade or business. Whether a particular rental meets that standard depends on the circumstances.
What is the QBI rental real estate safe harbor?
Revenue Procedure 2019-38 provides a safe harbor for certain rental real estate enterprises. The presentation discusses requirements involving separate books and records, rental services, and recordkeeping.
Does rental real estate have to meet the safe harbor to qualify for QBI?
No. Jason explains that the safe harbor is not required for a rental activity to be treated as a trade or business. Trade or business status may instead be established based on the facts and circumstances.
