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Rental income on a rental

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bromion

Junior Member
I rent a house and sublet one bedroom. In 2012, I used AirBnB to find a roommate, and they handled some of the transactions. Subsequently, I have received a tax form from them with the rental amount they collected in 2012. I do not own the house, and all rent ultimately gets paid to the landlord. Am I really supposed to pay taxes on money I collect from roommates which I deposit into my account, withdraw, then hand over to the landlord in one check? If not, how do I report this to the IRS since AirBnB transmits the information to the IRS?

Thanks,
Jason
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
If you received rent in the sublet situation, you must pay taxes on it. An apportioned part of your rent to the landlord is an expense against that income.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
I hope you're not making a profit on the sublet, in many places that's illegal. If you are collecting less than you pay to the owner in rent (or does it have to be half or less?), you have no income to be taxed (but you still have to account for it when you file).
 

bromion

Junior Member
I hope you're not making a profit on the sublet, in many places that's illegal. If you are collecting less than you pay to the owner in rent (or does it have to be half or less?), you have no income to be taxed (but you still have to account for it when you file).
Thank you, that's exactly what I needed to know. Now I just have to figure out how to account for it : )

Indeed, the rent I collect is much less than the rent I pay the landlord.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
It is NOT sufficient to claim that you pay more to the landlord than what you take in, you must apportion how much of the rent you pay covers the room you're renting out.
 

bromion

Junior Member
It is NOT sufficient to claim that you pay more to the landlord than what you take in, you must apportion how much of the rent you pay covers the room you're renting out.
So, basically, if my sublet room is 1/3 the sqft of the entire house, and my renter pays me equal to or less than 1/3 of the total rent, then my net income from the rental is zero or less, so I owe no additional taxes. Is that right?
 

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