The 14-day rule: when renting out your home is tax free
If you use a home as your residence and rent it for fewer than 15 days in the year, section 280A(g) says the rent is not included in your income and you cannot deduct expenses because of the rental. At 15 days or more, you report all the rent, and the rules for part-year personal use apply. Count rented days carefully.
What the rule says
The rule is 26 U.S.C. section 280A(g). If a dwelling unit is used during the year by the taxpayer as a residence and is actually rented for less than 15 days during the year, then no deduction allowable because of the rental use is allowed, and the income from that use is not included in gross income.
IRS Publication 527 repeats the idea for homeowners: if you rent property that you also use as your home and you rent it for fewer than 15 days during the tax year, you do not report the rent and you do not deduct rental expenses. You may still deduct the mortgage interest and property taxes on a home the way you normally would, as itemized deductions.
What the two conditions mean
- It must be your residence. A rental that you do not use as a home in the year, such as a second property you never stay in, is just a rental and does not get this rule.
- It must be rented for fewer than 15 days. Count the days it was actually rented at a fair price, not days it was listed or empty. The statute says "actually rented."
- The days count across the whole year, for all renters together. Ten days to one guest and six days to another is 16 days, and the rule no longer applies.
The test is per tax year, so a home rented for 12 days in one year and 20 in the next gets the exemption in the first year only.
A worked example
Example a made-up homeowner rents their house for 9 nights during a local festival and collects $3,150. The home is their residence, and 9 is fewer than 15. The $3,150 is not reported as income. The owner cannot deduct the $400 of cleaning cost for those nights. The mortgage interest and property taxes are handled as they normally would be for a home.
Example the same owner rents for 15 nights and collects $5,250. The exemption no longer applies. All $5,250 is reported, and the owner must split costs between rental days and personal days under the vacation home rules in Publication 527. Check: one more night than 14 changes the result from tax free to fully reported.
The cliff is the reason to count. Landlords who occasionally rent a room or a whole home for an event should keep a calendar and a record of every rental.
Does it help a landlord with long-term tenants?
Almost never. A tenant on a yearly lease rents for far more than 14 days. The rule is aimed at homeowners with occasional guests. It also does not apply to a unit you rent to a long-term tenant and never use as your home.
If you live in one unit of a duplex and rent the other, the rented unit is a normal rental. The shared costs have to be split, as in living in one unit of your duplex. If you rent out a room in the home you live in, see renting a room in your home.
Short-term rentals can also be subject to local registration and lodging taxes even when the income is tax free. Check your city and county.
What to keep
- A calendar showing the dates the home was rented and the dates you used it.
- Each booking confirmation and payment record.
- A short note of why the home is your residence for the year.
- If the days reach 15 or more, the receipts for costs of the rental period, to split costs by days.
A payment app can send you a tax form even when the income is not taxable. Keep your own record of the rented days so you can show why the rent was excluded.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping is built for landlords who rent homes and buildings to tenants on leases, with a ledger, books and Schedule E per property. It does not track short stays. If a home is on its way from personal use to a regular rental, set it up as a property when the first tenant moves in and your preparer can tell you how the earlier days are treated.
Sources
- 26 U.S.C. section 280A(g), Rental of residence for less than 15 days, read Oct 30, 2026
- IRS, Publication 527, Residential Rental Property (2025), read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Is rental income tax free for 14 days?
- If the home is your residence and is rented for fewer than 15 days in the year, the rent is not included in income and rental expenses cannot be deducted.
- Do I report 14 days of rent on my return?
- No, if all the conditions are met. Keep a calendar and booking records to show why.
- What happens on day 15?
- All the rent is income, and costs are split between rental and personal days. Ask your preparer about the vacation home rules.
- Does this apply to a long-term tenant?
- Not in practice. A yearly lease is far more than 14 days, so the income is reported as normal rental income.