Tax Planning

Top Tax Planning Tips for Those Entering the Short-Term Rental Market

Top Tax Planning Tips for Those Entering the Short-Term Rental Market

Note: The tax filing and payment deadline for 2019 tax returns has been delayed from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020.

To say that the short-term rental market worldwide is exploding is likely putting it mildly at this point.

According to one recent study, Airbnb alone averages about 500,000 stays per night around the world. On any given night, about two million people are staying in such rentals across the globe — a number that is only expected to increase as time goes on.

If you have a rental property or if you're constantly on-the-go, you may have considered creating such a short-term rental experience for yourself. It's a great way to make a passive income in the modern era, but it's also a choice that will require you to keep a number of very important things in mind concerning tax planning in particular.

Tax Planning Best Practices for Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and More

Regardless of the way you choose to market your rental property to the world, all of the experts we polled agreed that becoming this type of host is not a decision that should be made lightly. There are a fair number of considerations you need to make to guarantee that your experience — and that of your guests — goes off without a hitch.

In a general sense, Tiffany Whitfield of Enterprize Income Tax and Financial Services simply stated that when you meet with a financial professional ahead of your rental property going "live," you need to "discuss and describe the area your property is in" using as much detail as possible. This will give your financial professional the best idea of exactly what you're dealing with, allowing them to set up a plan that will allow you to enjoy all the benefits with as few of the potential downsides as possible.

Joshua Standley, EA, ABA of DKK Accounting said, "My recommendation is to keep excellent records by property or even by unit, including elements like square footage of the rental space, any major purchases like furniture and more." Along the same lines, he said that hosts should also "not forget to obtain a W-9 from any cleaning crew that you use, which you can then leverage later on to be able to issue the appropriate form 1099-MISC."

Mark Glazewski, EA of Taxx Guy, Inc. said that the decision to list a property on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and similar services will usually require a host to approach tax planning from a different perspective than that which they may be used to. "The idea is to be able to file this activity on a Schedule E (meaning as rental income), as opposed to needing to file a Schedule C (meaning business income)," he said. "Business income is subject to an additional 15.3% in self-employment taxes."

Indeed, that one subtle change could potentially save people significant amounts of money over the long run, especially if their property turns out to be a successful one.

Mr. Glazewski continued, saying that "in order to qualify for the Schedule E, you CANNOT provide services during the rental period — with daily meals, daily housekeeping or other services associated with a hotel or bed and breakfast being prime examples." He also indicated that, unfortunately, there is no clear line that separates a short-term rental from a more traditional hospitality establishment and in the end, the totality of the circumstances will determine how you should file your taxes.

He finished his thoughts, saying that "remember: the IRS wants to consider this business income so the best thing you can do is document, document, document. You need to be able to show if this income is questioned that you can back up your decision of how this income was ultimately reported."

Finally, J. Wesley Pauris of CP Tax Advisors touched on a topic that will no doubt be a primary focus of so many short-term rental hosts out there: claiming business deductions. Pauris said that "as a self-employed/employed property owner and Schedule C filer, you ARE permitted to deduct expenses related to the operation of your business. Your direct expenses may be deducted in full. However, there are other expenses that may be pro-rated that you must be aware of moving forward."

All of this is to say that if you truly want to make sure that your Airbnb, VRBO or HomeAway experience is executed with as few of the potential downsides as possible, you really need to enlist the help of a trained tax professional as soon as you possibly can. A lot of the rules governing these types of situations are in a constant state of flux and it is literally their job to stay up-to-date so that you don't have to. While managing the short-term rental is something you'll likely be able to do alone, tax planning isn't necessarily in the same category — and assuming that it is could see you make the type of mistake that will cost you dearly once tax season rolls around yet again.

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Lee Reams II

Lee Reams II

CEO

I am a tax and business news junkie who has spent the last 20 years developing and executing "best in class" word-of-mouth marketing campaigns for tax and accounting professionals. With TaxBuzz and CountingWorks we have taken that same commitment to quality content directly to the consumer. Keeping you up-to-date with the latest tax law changes, business growth tips and planning strategies to help you reach your best financial outcome.

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