Taxable income when House Hacking

[Stan Soulen]

Hello BP, After listening to podcast 196 with CPA Brandon Hall, I am questioning whether or not I'm most efficiently House Hacking. I currently rent out half of my property. I was told that as long as I was living there, it wasn't considered a rental property and the rents collected don't have to be reported. What are the benefits of reporting this extra income if it is just going to be taxed? Is it worth the write offs if I'm renting out the majority of my property for the depreciation? I don't see how those deductions would equal the amount that the government would take out. Thanks in advance for helping me think through and understand this.