Understanding Short Term Rental and Real Estate Professional Status

Short-term rentals, such as those listed on 𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐛𝐧𝐛 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐑𝐁𝐎, are often misunderstood when it comes to tax implications—especially in relation to real estate professional status. Let’s break it down clearly:
𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝟏.𝟒𝟔𝟗-𝟏𝐓(𝐞)(𝟑) there’s an important exception: if the average period of customer use for a property is 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬, the activity is not considered a 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝟒𝟔𝟗 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲. This means that most short-term rental properties (like those on Airbnb and VRBO) are not classified as rental activities under Section 469 of the Internal Revenue Code.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?
It means you do not need to qualify as a real estate professional under IRC 𝐒𝐞𝐜. 𝟒𝟔𝟗(𝐜)(𝟕)(𝐁) to claim losses from short-term rentals as non-passive. You just need to show that you materially participated in the activity during the tax year, and your rental losses will be non-passive. This is a potential avenue for individuals with demanding jobs or business roles who cannot meet the real estate professional requirements but still want to deduct rental losses.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐃𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬?

𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨. 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐯. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 (𝐓.𝐂. 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟏-𝟐𝟗𝟔) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐯. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 (𝐓.𝐂. 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟏-𝟐𝟐) the court ruled that taxpayers with short-term and long-term rentals could not aggregate the two types of properties for purposes of qualifying as a real estate professional. The logic here is that short-term rentals do not qualify as “𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬,” and therefore cannot count toward real estate professional status.

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: Owning a short-term rental doesn’t automatically mean you have a 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐂 business subject to self-employment tax. If you don’t provide substantial services to the tenant during their stay, it’s likely a 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐄 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲, not a Schedule C business.

So, In real estate investments, short-term rentals offer a great opportunity to deduct rental losses as non-passive—without needing to qualify as a real estate professional.