Guides
Short-Term Rental Guides
Plain-English reads on how short-term rental laws actually work — the federal rules the IRS enforces, the permit and zoning patterns cities use, and the loopholes that get pitched at conferences but only sometimes apply to your situation. For city-level regulation data, see the state and city pages.
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· 7 min read
Do You Need a Permit for Your Airbnb? A State-by-State Read
Whether you need an Airbnb permit depends on three things — your city's STR ordinance, your state's preemption law, and your unit's zoning class. Here's how to find out in 15 minutes and what happens if you skip it.
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· 8 min read
Short-Term Rental Laws by State: What Changes When You Cross a Line
Short-term rental laws vary state to state on three axes — preemption, lodging tax, and operator classification. Here's the 50-state map of which rules ride at the state level and which drop to the city.
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· 8 min read
Short-Term Rental Rules from the IRS: the 14-Day Rule, the 7-Day Test, and Material Participation
The IRS uses three specific rules to classify short-term rentals — the 14-day rule (§280A), the 7-day test (§469), and material participation. Get the wrong rule and you lose deductions or trigger SE tax. Here's the working operator's read.
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· 9 min read
The Short-Term Rental Tax Loophole: How It Actually Works (and Who Qualifies)
The short-term rental tax loophole lets STR owners use rental losses against W-2 income — but only if you pass two tests most operators don't realize exist. Here's how the loophole works, the IRS rules behind it, and who actually qualifies.
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· 7 min read
Short-Term Rental Zoning Restrictions: How to Read a City Ordinance Before You Buy
STR zoning rules kill more Airbnb deals than tax math. Here's how to read a city's zoning overlay before you make an offer — the five clauses that decide if your property can legally operate, and the words that signal an effective ban.
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STRLaws is an information service, not legal or tax advice. Confirm with a licensed professional before acting on anything you read here.