AirBnB Stay Tax Deductible?

[Benjamin West]

I currently have an operating AirBnB in Colorado and looking to do a vacation this winter, staying in some AirBnBs while on the trip.  Is it legitimate to write off the cost of the travel and accommodation as business expenses to see how others do their vacation rentals?

[Linda Weygant]

One of the questions an auditor will ask is "what is the primary purpose of this trip?"  If the primary purpose is vacation, with a little AirBNB research thrown in, then you *might* be able to make a case to deduct a small percentage of your overall expenses.  For example, if, in an 18 hour waking period, you spend 2 hours snooping through the AirBNB, writing down the makes and models of appliances, figuring out the distribution of the mini shampoos and inventorying how many cooking supplies your hosts are providing and the thread count of the sheets, then an auditor might allow you to take 10% of your total trip expenses as a deduction.

If, however, in an 18 hour waking period, you spend 6-8 hours per day interviewing Hosts, researching which properties would make good AirBNBs, researching the local laws, touring properties, meeting with an agent and vigorously pursuing your next acquisition, you'd have a MUCH better case for writing off your travel expenses (but probably not your lift tickets and equipment rental).

If, on the other hand, you are traveling and on vacation and just hang out in your AirBNB without actually performing any activities, then the odds that an auditor will allow any deduction at all is pretty minimal.

In any audit, it would be up to you to document the business purpose of your trip.  It is not up to the auditor to prove the trip was personal.  Unlike normal legal proceedings, you are guilty until you prove you are not.

Additionally, this would be for YOUR travel only.  Kids' travel would generally be right out as would a travel partner who is disinterested in real estate.