House Hacking - Need Help

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My goal is to buy a home by age 25 (Nov 2020). I want to house hack and rent to a few friends in order to build up equity in the property which will be used to fund rentals.

1) What are the rules/paperwork surrounding accepting rental payments as the owner of the home?

2) Am I better off to claim the payments as rental income to write off expenses?

3) Or, should I not claim it as income? (I’ve heard this is tax evasion however and would appreciate some clarification)

Thanks!