Minimum number of days a short term home has to be rented?

[RafaelEC66]

What is the minimum number of days a short term home has to be rented in order to report income and expenses? And can I report expenses getting the house ready to be rented?

In order to get our home ready for short term rental, we had to beforehand do certain improvements to the house for safety and maintenance purposes.  We also had to pay for certain licenses and registration fees to the county/city/state.  We were finally able to get the house ready for short term rental in December '22 and it rented out for 15 days.  The gross income in Dec. was $3,000 but our expenses were $4,000 during the months of Sept to November. 

What do I need to report? Income, expenses, neither?

[MayaD · Accepted solution]

Per IRS: Minimal Rental Use

There's a special rule if you use a dwelling unit as a residence and rent it for fewer than 15 days. In this case, don't report any of the rental income and don't deduct any expenses as rental expenses.

If you rent it for 15 days or more during the year, include all your rental income in your income. Because you used the dwelling unit for personal purposes, you must divide your expenses between the rental use and the personal use. The expenses for personal use aren’t deductible as rental expenses. However, if you had a net loss from renting the dwelling unit for the year, your deduction for certain rental expenses is limited.

IRS Pub 527

To report your Income and Expenses check: Where do I enter income and expenses from a rental property?