Income Taxes & Deductions for House-Hacking with AirBnB

[Ally H.]

Background: We bought our first home this year and are renting out the extra bedrooms through AirBnB. We'll receive a 1099-K from AirBnB on the earnings and are not exactly sure how our tax situation with regards to tax deductions will be, as we've always just taken the standard deduction in previous years. 

As active duty military, I do have access to our tax volunteers on base every year, but we've always done our (previously simple and straightforward) taxes. I don't think that the tax volunteers offer any tax planning (more so tax filing), so we've been looking for a CPA who is knowledgeable and patient enough to teach us through the planning portion. We've read through the IRS resources, but are not sure whether our interpretation of the grey areas will align with what the IRS actually wants.

Regarding our tax plan, we think the itemized deduction approach will be more beneficial than the standard deduction approach. We can itemize our mortgage interest and property taxes on Schedule A. However, because we also receive rental income from AirBnB and this is our personal home and not a vacation home, can we still deduct a portion of our mortgage, home insurance premiums, hurricane insurance premiums, and utilities by using Schedule E? If so, is it recommended that we base the portions on the square footage of the rented bedrooms or by the number of bedrooms (we rent out 2 of our 3-bedroom house)? Since this isn't a vacation property, does depreciation apply in any way in our situation?

Lastly, if anyone can refer us to a great CPA who's located in Honolulu/Oahu, we'd greatly appreciate it! Thank you in advance, everyone!!!