Renting Your Home for Fewer Than 15 Days
Published November 6, 2026
If you rent out your home for fewer than 15 days in a year, you may not include that rent in your income. This rule has a condition. You must also use the home as a home. This guide explains how the rule works and when it does not apply. It is general information. It is not advice about your return.
The 15-day rule
If you use a dwelling as your home and you rent it for less than 15 days during the year, you do not include the rent in your income. You also do not report the rental on Schedule E (Form 1040). Publication 527 explains this rule. Expenses from this kind of rental are not treated as rental expenses.
What counts as using it as a home
You use the home as a home when your personal use is more than the greater of 14 days or 10% of the days you rent it to others. Your personal days count toward this test. The rule is about the number of days, so check your calendar and your rental records before you rely on it.
What happens to your home costs
Costs tied to the home still count. You report them the normal way on Schedule A (Form 1040), if you itemize. Examples are mortgage interest, property taxes, and any qualified casualty loss. These costs are not treated as rental expenses in this case.
When 15 days or more applies
If you rent the home for 15 days or more, this rule does not apply. You include all the rent in your income and report the rental on Schedule E. You also divide your expenses between rental use and personal use. The personal part of your costs is not a rental expense. Keep records of both kinds of days, because the split depends on them.
An example
Lina lives in her house for most of the year. She rents it for nine days during a large local event. Her personal days are far above the greater of 14 days or 10% of the rental days, so she uses the house as a home. Because the rental lasted fewer than 15 days, she does not include the nine days of rent in her income. Her mortgage interest and property taxes are still reported the normal way on Schedule A, if she itemizes. This example uses made-up facts. It is not a result for a real return.
Common mistakes
- Using the rule without living in the home. A home that is not used as a home follows different rules.
- Reporting the rent on Schedule E anyway. Under this rule, the rent does not go there.
- Counting the wrong days. Rental days and personal days are separate counts.
Next steps
Before you decide, answer three questions. Did you use the home as a home during the year? Did your personal days pass the test? Was the rental for fewer than 15 days? If all three answers are yes, the rule applies.
Count the days you rented the home and the days you used it personally. Check whether your personal days pass the test. If they do, and the rental lasted fewer than 15 days, keep the rental agreement and your day counts. If the home does not pass the test, Publication 527 explains the other rules. For how rental income is reported in other cases, read our guide to rental income and Schedule E basics.
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Sources: Sources: IRS, Publication 527 (2025), Residential Rental Property, Used as a home but rented less than 15 days (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p527.pdf) This is general information, not advice about your specific return.
