Short Term Rental Test

Check your average guest stay and see which rules your CPA looks at next. It is not a promise that losses will reduce your wages or other income.

Short Term Rental Average Stay Test

Enter the nights your property was rented and the number of separate guest stays in the year. The test returns your average stay in days and which side of the 7 day line it falls on.

Enter your rented nights and your number of stays to see your average stay.

Educational information only, never tax advice and never a guarantee. It is not a promise that losses will reduce your wages or other income. We do not prepare tax returns or provide legal advice; your CPA applies the rules to your facts. Questions about your own numbers? Contact us.

The Rules Behind the Test

  • An activity involving the use of tangible property is not a rental activity for a tax year if the average period of customer use is seven days or less. Source: Temp. Treas. Reg. section 1.469-1T(e)(3)(ii)(A)
  • An activity is also not a rental activity if the average period of customer use is 30 days or less and significant personal services are provided by or on behalf of the owner. Services similar to those commonly provided with long term rentals, such as cleaning common areas, routine repairs and trash collection, do not count. Source: Temp. Treas. Reg. section 1.469-1T(e)(3)(ii)(B) and (e)(3)(iv)

The rules on this page were checked against their sources on October 1, 2026.

The Building's Life Is a Separate Question

The building's life is a separate question. The two rules below come from different places, no source we publish applies the 30 day figure to the building's life, and your CPA confirms the life that applies to your property.

  • A building is residential rental property only if 80 percent or more of its gross rental income is from dwelling units. A dwelling unit does not include a unit in a hotel, motel or other establishment where more than one half of the units are used on a transient basis. Section 168 does not define transient basis or state a number of days. Source: IRC section 168(e)(2)(A)(i) and (ii)(I)
  • The 30 day figure comes from Treas. Reg. 1.48-1(h)(2)(ii), an investment credit regulation on hotel and motel property, not from section 168. It says accommodations are used on a transient basis if the rental period is normally less than 30 days. Paragraph (h)(1)(i) of the same regulation contains no 30 day language. Source: Treas. Reg. section 1.48-1(h)(2)(ii)

What our estimate models for these rental types:

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