Could VRBO users from Michigan provide some clarity about the topic of sales tax/lodging tax collection and payment to the state.

I am in one of the higher tax brackets and could be saving around 40k~ a year on taxes with this.

And of course we're in agreement on consulting a tax pro.

However, there is no specific holding period contained in the tax code or regulations and there is no "safe harbor." 

My question is how do we make sure we can take full advantage of the tax strategies to keep more money in our pockets from our current W2 incomes?

I do plan to consult my real estate attorney who handled the closing but this is his busiest week of the year, so I definitely don’t want to bug him with something that isn’t extremely urgent until after the New Year.

This might make sense, but again, you are just deferring the taxes and now pushing tax from capital gains to ordinary income. 

If you live in the home for 2 out of the past 5 years and move out of state you may be exempt from the tax.  

I’m in the 33% tax bracket through my real job and this could be a big difference in taxes owed if we sold the property?

Home went to tax sale county kept excess proceeds.