The rule in plain language
Under U.S. tax law (IRC Section 280A), if you rent your home — or a vacation property you also personally use — for 14 days or fewer in a calendar year, the rental income is completely excluded from your taxable income. You don't report it. You don't pay tax on it.
This is sometimes called the "Master's exception" or "Augusta rule" because it was famously used by homeowners in Augusta, Georgia who rented their homes during the Masters golf tournament each spring.
Tax-free income comes with a cost: you cannot deduct any rental expenses under the 14-day rule. No cleaning fees, no supplies, no depreciation, no allocation of utilities. The tradeoff is: tax-free income in exchange for no rental deductions. For most short-term landlords, this is still an excellent deal.
The two conditions that must both be true
The 14-day rule has two requirements. Both must be met:
You rented for 14 days or fewer
The total number of days you rented the property to paying guests at fair market rent must be 14 or fewer during the calendar year. Day 15 breaks the rule — for the entire year.
You also personally use the property
You must use the property for personal use for more than 14 days OR more than 10% of the days it was rented at fair market rent — whichever is greater. Pure investment properties you never personally use don't qualify.
What counts as a rental day?
A rental day is any day a paying guest occupies the property at fair market rent. Partial days count as full days. Days the property is listed but unoccupied do not count.
If you rent to a family member or friend at below fair market rent, those days count as personal use days, not rental days. This matters both for the 14-day threshold and for expense allocation. Renting to family at a discount to help them out while thinking it keeps the day count low is a common misunderstanding.
What counts as a personal use day?
This is where many people make mistakes. Personal use days include more than just the days you personally sleep there:
| Counts as personal use day? | Situation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ✅ Yes | You use the property for any personal purpose | Direct personal use |
| ✅ Yes | Your spouse, children, parents, or siblings use it (even if they pay full rent) | Family member use |
| ✅ Yes | Any person uses it at below fair market rent | Below-market use |
| ✅ Yes | You use it under a reciprocal arrangement (e.g., swap with another homeowner) | Reciprocal exchange |
| ❌ No | Days you spend there doing repairs or maintenance | Maintenance days excluded even if you sleep there |
| ❌ No | Days the property sits vacant (no guest, no personal use) | Neither rental nor personal |
| ❌ No | Days a family member rents at full fair market rent (arm's length) | Treated as a paying tenant |
How the rule plays out in different scenarios
The strategic decision: stay under 14 or go over?
For homeowners who have flexibility in how many days they rent, the 14-day threshold is a planning opportunity. Here's how to think about it:
| Strategy | Best when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Stay at ≤14 days | You can earn significant income in just a few high-demand nights (e.g., during a major event) | You sacrifice all rental expense deductions — verify that the tax-free income is worth more than the deductions you'd get |
| Go over 14 days | You have significant rental-related expenses (renovation, cleaning, depreciation) that would generate useful deductions | You must report all income from day one, not just income from day 15 onward |
| Stay just under | You're in a tourist area with very high nightly rates — a few nights can generate substantial tax-free income | Track days carefully — a single extra booking can eliminate the entire exemption |
Airbnb is required to send you (and the IRS) a 1099-K if you received more than $600 in gross payments. If you qualify for the 14-day exclusion and don't report the income, the IRS may send a notice asking about the discrepancy. Keep documentation: a calendar log of rental days vs. personal use days, and your 1099-K. This is sufficient to demonstrate you qualified for the exclusion if ever asked.