Renting and tax questions

[Danielle Scott]

I own a home in Little Rock AR and moved to Texas for work in June. The past three years I rented out my spare bedrooms to three other girls. I never considered it to be "income" as 90% of it went to the mortgage or repairs/upkeep so never reported on taxes. Thinking about getting a property management company to take care of it when their lease is up but would be taking a loss! Let's say I rented it for $2000/month I'd have to pay $200 to the management company and then 25% passive income tax from what I've been told. I would be losing money and this is before any repairs. I can't seem to wrap my head around this...having someone live in my house adding to wear and tear then losing money. Can someone explain how they do this?