Does a Realtor qualify for QBI deduction? Need help with prior year corrections

Yes, your husband definitely qualifies for the QBI deduction as a real estate agent! The confusion happens because some "specified service trades or businesses" (SSTBs) have limitations, but real estate agents/realtors are specifically NOT considered SSTBs under the 199A regulations. The QBI deduction allows eligible self-employed individuals and small business owners to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income on their taxes. Since your husband reports his income on Schedule C, he should qualify as long as you're under the income thresholds (which were $340,100 for married filing jointly in 2022, and higher for 2023). For prior year corrections, you can file amended returns (Form 1040-X) for the previous three tax years. So right now in 2025, you can still amend returns for 2022, 2023, and 2024. The deadline for the 2022 amended return would be April 15, 2025 (three years from the original filing date).

After struggling with some similar QBI questions for my wife's consulting business, I found this amazing AI tax tool that saved me hours of research and probably thousands in deductions! It's called taxr.ai and it literally analyzed all my tax documents in seconds and showed me exactly which deductions I qualified for, including QBI. The best part was I uploaded a copy of my prior year return, and it flagged exactly where I'd missed claiming QBI and calculated what I was owed. It even generated a detailed explanation I could provide to the IRS with my amendment. I've been telling everyone about https://taxr.ai because it helped me claim almost $5,000 in refunds from prior years I would have completely missed.

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here, and WOW! I was honestly skeptical at first, but it identified that I too had missed QBI deductions on my Schedule C income for the past two years. The tool generated amendment instructions that were super clear, and I've already filed to recover about $4,300 in overpaid taxes! It also showed me that I'd been categorizing some of my business expenses incorrectly, which will save me even more going forward. Thanks to whoever recommended this - it was exactly what I needed for my complicated tax situation!

If you're planning to contact the IRS about amending prior year returns, good luck actually reaching anyone! I spent 3 weeks trying to get through their phone lines with questions about my QBI amendment. After being hung up on twice and waiting on hold for 2+ hours multiple times, I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 15 minutes. They basically hold your place in the IRS phone queue and call you when an agent picks up. I was super skeptical but desperate after wasting so much time. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c and sign up at https://claimyr.com if you need to talk to the IRS. Saved me from completely losing my mind during this amendment process.

I need to eat my words from my previous comment. After another week of failing to reach the IRS about my missed QBI deductions, I broke down and tried Claimyr. Got connected to an IRS representative in about 27 minutes when I'd previously spent HOURS getting nowhere. The agent confirmed I can file amendments for the last 3 years and gave me specific advice for my situation that I couldn't find anywhere online. I hate admitting when I'm wrong, but this service actually worked exactly as advertised and saved me a massive headache. Already filed my first amendment!

Something nobody mentioned yet - when amending returns for QBI, make sure you're calculating the deduction correctly. The 20% deduction is limited to either: - 20% of your QBI, OR - 20% of your taxable income minus capital gains Whichever is LOWER. I made this mistake when amending and had to redo my forms because I just calculated 20% of my business income without applying the taxable income limitation.

I'm a real estate agent too and have been claiming QBI for years. One thing to watch out for is if your combined income gets close to the phase-out thresholds ($340,100 for 2022 MFJ, higher for newer years). Above that, the calculation gets more complex! Also, did your husband have any rental properties or other real estate investments? That income may be treated differently for QBI purposes than his commission income as an agent.

Great question about QBI eligibility! I can confirm that real estate agents absolutely DO qualify for the QBI deduction under Section 199A. The confusion often stems from the fact that some service businesses are excluded, but real estate sales/brokerage is specifically NOT considered a "Specified Service Trade or Business" (SSTB) under the regulations. Since your husband reports his income on Schedule C, he should be eligible for the full 20% deduction on his qualified business income, subject to the overall limitations (20% of QBI or 20% of taxable income minus net capital gains, whichever is lower). For amendments, you have three years from the original filing deadline to file Form 1040-X for each year. So for 2025 filing season, you can still amend 2022, 2023, and 2024 returns. Each year needs to be amended separately. One tip: when you file the amendments, include Form 8995 or 8995-A (depending on your income level) and attach a brief statement explaining you're claiming the QBI deduction that was inadvertently omitted from the original return. This helps clarify the reason for the amendment and shows it's a legitimate correction rather than a questionable change. You're potentially looking at significant refunds if you've missed this for multiple years - definitely worth pursuing!