I have a house that we rent well below fair market value. we rent it mainly to make the mortgage payment is there any tax benefit for this and does the IRS know its not

for profit
RichardG
New Member

Investors & landlords

The rent you receive is taxable income, even if you are charging less than fair market value in rent.  If you do not rent your property to make a profit, you can deduct your rental expenses only up to the amount of your rental income. You cannot deduct a loss or carry forward to the next year any rental expenses that are more than your rental income for the year.

Where to report.   In this case you won't report your rental activity on Schedule E or through the interview for Rental Properties in TurboTax.  Report your not-for-profit rental income by going to Federal Taxes>Wages & Income>Less Common Income>Other Reportable Income.   If you itemize your deductions, you can include your mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and casualty losses the same way you report these deductions for your own home
in TurboTax.  Claim your other rental expenses as miscellaneous itemized deductions under Federal Taxes>Deductions & Credits>Other Deductions & Credits>Other Deductible Expenses.  You can deduct these expenses only if they, together with certain other miscellaneous itemized deductions, total more than 2% of your adjusted gross income.