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The Daily Insight

Is renting a house for work tax deductible?

Author

John Thompson

Published Feb 09, 2026

Employees and Independent Contractors Whenever you hire anyone to perform services for your rental activity, you can deduct their wages as a rental business expense. This is so whether the worker is an employee (for example, a resident manager) or an independent contractor (for example, a repair person).

Do you get tax relief on rented out property?

As of April 2020, you are no longer able to deduct any of your mortgage expenses from rental income to reduce your tax bill. Instead, you’ll receive a tax-credit, based on 20% of your mortgage interest payments.

Do you get a tax deduction for renting a house?

They may be able to deduct some of their personal expenses on Schedule A (Form 1040) if they itemize deductions. Furthermore, the amount of rental expenses that a taxpayer can deduct may be limited if the dwelling is considered a residence.

How long can you rent out your home for tax purposes?

If the home is used for rental purposes, the homeowner will fall into one of three categories. According to IRS tax laws, a vacation property can be rented out for up to two weeks (14 nights) each year without the need to report the rental income.

Are there tax breaks for renting out a vacation home?

Understanding the tax rules ahead of time can help vacation home owners take advantage of tax breaks and avoid any surprises at tax time. The tax benefits to which an owner may be entitled depends upon the number of days each year that the property is rented out, and how much time the owner spends in the home.

How long does it take to depreciate a rental property?

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed the alternative depreciation system recovery period for residential rental property from 40 years to 30 years. Under the new law, a real property trade or business electing out of the interest deduction limit must use the alternative depreciation system to depreciate any of its residential rental property.