Augusta 14 day rule

[Surfgolf]

Client rented his personal residence for 10 days to an outside company.  They gave him a 1099 indicating it was rent.  I was going to list that under Schedule E, but can't find the area where I can report the income but use the 14 day tax free option.

[George4Tacks]

I would just enter an "other deduction" minimal use exclusion = income reported

[Surfgolf]

Thank you.   Much appreciated

[BobKamman]

Or you could do what IRS asks.

Minimal rental use

There's a special rule if you use a dwelling unit as a residence and rent it for fewer than 15 days. In this case, don't report any of the rental income and don't deduct any expenses as rental expenses.

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc415

Did you hear the one about the guy who tried to avoid a CP-2000 by claiming an exemption was really a deduction?  Got a full-blown audit because IRS had a quota of Schedule E's to examine.  

[BobKamman]

It helps to know what IRS employees are looking for on the return. You can find that in the Internal Revenue Manual. The part of the “Underreporter Program” instructions that applies is 4.19.3.8.11.1. But here you run into the problem, that there are some secret parts that are not open for public inspection. Instead, all you see is “ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡”.

(2) ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡
a. Is a member of a federally recognized Native American tribe and there is an indication that the rental income was directly derived from land allotted to the taxpayer that is held in trust by the U.S. government. The taxpayer may cite the court decision Squire v. Capoeman (351 US 1), or the following Revenue Rulings: 67-284 1967-2 CB 55, 62-16 1962-1 CB 7, or 74-13 1974-1 CB 14, 94-65 1994-2 CB 14. . . .
b. Identifies the rental amount and cites it is excludable under IRC 280(A) or indicates that the rental was for less than fifteen (15) days.

The only thing that makes sense for the omitted heading is something like “Explanations Attached To Return.” So, if you’re concerned about a CP-2000, don’t conclude that two mistakes (reporting income that doesn’t belong on Schedule E, then reporting a deduction that doesn’t exist) equals one right answer. Just attach a statement of a single sentence that says something like, “$XXX of income was received for rental of less than fifteen days under Section 280A and reported on Form 1099-MISC from XYZ Company.”

But first, ask how much is involved here. Some mansions will rent for $1,000 a day, and a $14,000 payment might draw attention. But others might go for $200 a day, ten days would be $2,000, and a taxpayer in a 12% bracket would not merit a CP-2000. (Have you ever seen one for under $500? I haven’t.)