The tax law provides that if you rent your home for fewer than 15 days a year that the rental income is not included in your gross income (Section 280A(g)). That means that you can take a two-week vacation, rent your home while you are gone, and the rental income is not taxable. What a great way to pay for your vacation.

The tax law provides that all income is included in gross income and therefore taxable unless the item of income is specifically excluded from gross income. There are a number of these exclusions and some are commonly known such as the fact that health insurance premiums paid by your employer are excluded from your gross income. However, this exclusion for renting your home out for 14 days or fewer during the year is not as well known.

If you live near where a major sporting event, convention, or other major event is taking place, you might be able to rent your home for a large sum of money. For example, if you lived near where the Super Bowl or World Series was going to be played, you might be able to rent your home for much more than the average hotel rate in your city.

If you live in a resort area, you might be able to rent your home out during the peak tourist season when the hotels are at full occupancy. Because you may rent your home for a maximum of 14 days a year for the income to be tax free, you want to earn the highest rental rate possible.

Be sure to check with your attorney to make sure that there is no problem with zoning or other legal prohibitions for renting your home for up to 14 days a year. Local law might require that you obtain a license or collect sales or occupancy tax from the tenant. You will also want to hire a property manager to handle the rental while you are gone. You or the property manager will want to verify the tenant's references. You will also want to obtain a reasonable security deposit.

Although the rental income is not taxable if you rent your home for 14 or fewer days during the year, you may not claim any deductions attributable to the rental activity (Section 280A(g)(1)). Thus, you may not deduct property management fees, repairs, cleaning, insurance, or depreciation attributable to the rental. You may, however, deduct the mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and any casualty or theft losses as itemized deductions just as you otherwise could.

The ability to rent your home to a tenant for up to 14 days a year and have the rent income be tax free is one of the many tax benefits that the tax law allows homeowners. If you live near a major sporting event or in a resort area, this rule allows you to generate significant tax-free income each year while enjoying a nice vacation. Just be sure that the tenant understands that 14 days is the maximum term of occupancy. If you rent the home for a total of 15 or more days during the year, all of the rent income is taxable.