Deductions & credits

@megmcginness You may want to review the rules on 'personal use' so that nothing runs afoul of the IRS. 

suggest reviewing this link from the IRS....and walking through the importance of "personal use" to differentiate a 2nd home from an investment property.  

 

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p527#en_US_2019_publink1000285457

 

it may get complicated if you are renting to all 3 at market rents for the summer as there is no "personal use" based on the IRS definition.   

 

they define 'personal use' of the 2nd home and note: 

 

What is a day of personal use?

 

A day of personal use of a dwelling unit is any day that the unit is used by any of the following persons.

  1. You or any other person who owns an interest in it, unless you rent it to another owner as his or her main home under a shared equity financing agreement (defined later). However, see Days used as a main home before or after renting , later.

  2. A member of your family or a member of the family of any other person who owns an interest in it, unless the family member uses the dwelling unit as his or her main home and pays a fair rental price. Family includes only your spouse, brothers and sisters, half brothers and half sisters, ancestors (parents, grandparents, etc.), and lineal descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.).

  3. Anyone under an arrangement that lets you use some other dwelling unit.

  4. Anyone at less than a fair rental price.

 

so this definition says it's okay to say the home is a 2nd home if a family member is being charged less than market rent.  But it's not personal use if the family member is being charged market rent.  Depending on your objective, would it be worth charging your daughter below market during the summer as well; alternatively charge her $125 per month for all 12 months? ....that way there is no question that there was personal use all year long.