Should i input Turbotax the days my house was offered on airBnB? or just days rented? Also, later report its expenses of the entire year? or just the rental period?

[LP1968]

I offered  my house (for the first time) on airBnB from April 8 to April 27 last year. It was eventually rented for just 5 days (of these 20 days).  How best should i report this using Turbotax (Premier)?

 

More specifically:


1) when Turbotax asks me  to report how many days was the property rented for, do I input 20 or 5?

 

2) when Turbotax later asks me to report my property tax, mortgage interest, and utilities, do I report the amount for the entire year (because Turbotax will  prorate the amounts accordingly)? or should I calculate the amount of these expenses that corresponds to the 20 (or 5) days, and enter only that amount?

 

3) since this the first time i had this property on AirBnB, when Turbotax asks me in the very beginning if "i converted this property to rental for the first time in 2019"  do I check the box (reporting that I converted)? or not (because it was only for a few days)?   

Please advise. Thanks in advance!

[Carl]

1) The "days rented" count starts on the 1st day a renter "could" have moved in, and includes vacant periods between renters, provided you did not live in the house for any personal pleasure use during those vacant periods.

2) Elect and enter amounts for the entire year. If the property was placed in service in 2019, the program will split the mortgage insurance and property taxes for you. That's all it splits. All other rental expenses you enter are for the period of time it was classified as a rental anyway. You personally will have to manually pro-rate the property insurance. The insurance is only deductible for the period of time it was in service. Insurance for the period of time it was personal use can not be deducted anywhere on the tax return.

3) Doesn't matter the number of days. If you converted the property from personal use to a rental on Dec 31 of the tax year, then you converted it to a rental for the first time in 2019, on that date.  If this property was a rental property in prior years that you owned it, then TurboTax is unable to handle that situation correctly at all, without a bit of "white lies" to make the numbers right. This has the potential to come back on you if ever audited.

[Carl]

See my response to your duplicate post at https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/investments-and-rental-properties/discussion/airbnb-rental-reporti...

It may be simpler.

[Critter · Accepted solution]

Since the personal residence was rented for less than 14 days the entire year you do not need to report anything on the tax return per the IRS regulations. 

[LP1968]

Thanks a lot for your very helpful response!  (and excuse my duplicate response, but i thought my first posting crashed before going out). 

Let me please clarify two important details:

1. I need to convert anyway my house to rental in 2019 because after the short AirBnB rental, I mentioned below, I ended up renting one of the rooms in my house for 8 months (for which i received a separate 1099-MISC).  So, the work has to be done anyway. I was just not sure when the conversion should start. 

by the way, I suppose the second rental period should be reported as a separate rental entry (since separate 1099-MISC), correct?

2. if I understand correctly your response, Turbotax will only prorate for me the property taxes (and mortgage insurance which I did not have anyway). So, everything else, most notably mortgage interest, home Insurance, utilities, gardener, cleaning etc, I need to prorate myself (separately for each of the two rental periods). Correct? 

Thanks again!

[LP1968]

Thanks a lot for this very helpful clarification!

Is this "less than 14 days no need to report" valid also for 2020? 

While in 2019, after the AirBnB 5 days rental, I ended up renting (without AirBnB) a room in my house for few months, and therefore I need to report. 

In 2020,  I only have 12 days of AirBnB so far. So, if the 14 days still holds, it will be great.

Please advise. Thanks again. 

[CatinaT1]

This will still be valid for 2020.

[Critter]

The 14 day exception to reporting is a per year deal so yes it is still valid.

FYI ... the folks who participate in those  home improvement shows that fix the home in less than 2 weeks use this legal loophole ... they contract to technically "RENT" their home to the show for 14 days or less so they don't have to claim the rent as income. 

[LP1968]

Thanks for your very helpful previous responses!  I have one more clarification (and excuse my extra question), because in 2019, i ended up renting my house in two separate occasions:  

More specifically, in addition to the 5 days AirBnB rental (already mentioned) of the whole house in April, I then rented the one bedroom (i.e. 50%) of my house to a colleague for few months (for which i received a separate 1099-MISC).  So, I am trying to understand how to best report this in TurboTax. 

I suppose I'd enter the second rental period as a separate rental entry (since has only 50% use and a separate 1099-MISC), correct?If so, do I check that I converted my house to rental in both entries or just the first one? 

Along the same liens, if I understand correctly the earlier related response, Turbotax will only prorate for me the property taxes (and mortgage insurance which I did not have anyway). So, everything else, most notably mortgage interest, home Insurance, utilities, gardener, cleaning etc, I need to prorate myself and separately for each one of the rental periods. Correct? 

Thanks again!

[Critter]

Since you rented the property for more than 14 days total for the year then all the rent paid must be reported and follow the screen instructions carefully so the prorated items are done correctly ... you may wish to upgrade to the LIVE option this first year to be educated on how this works as it can be tricky.

[LP1968]

ok. Sure, but are there somewhere Turbotax instructions I can read first?  

If I need to, then, i'll upgrade to Live, but I'd rather do so after doing my homework.   

Thanks again! 

[Critter]

There is no instruction manual ... all you can do is run thru the screens and upgrade if you get lost or confused.