IRC Section 280A(g): Statute, IRS Guidance, and Substantiation

The operative phrase is short: the residence must be “actually rented for less than 15 days” during the tax year. If that condition is met, subsection (g) does two things. It disallows deductions that would otherwise arise because of that rental use, and it excludes the income from gross income under Section 61.

“Less than 15” means 14 or fewer actual rental days. It is a cliff, not a 14-day exemption that continues after day 15. Once the residence is rented for 15 days or more, Section 280A(g) no longer supplies the exclusion and the normal reporting and allocation framework applies.

Read the current statutory text at the U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel.

Section 280A is broader than the Augusta Rule. Subsection (a) begins with a general restriction on deductions tied to a dwelling unit used as a residence. Subsection (c) supplies exceptions for qualifying business and rental uses. Subsection (d) defines when the unit counts as a residence. Subsection (g) then creates the narrow rule for minimal rental use.

This structure explains why the Augusta Rule and the home-office deduction should not be blended. A home office asks whether an area is used regularly and exclusively for business under subsection (c). A short rental asks whether the residence and actual rental-day requirements in subsection (g) are met. The same home can raise both questions, but each has its own test and records.

A building is not enough. The dwelling unit must be used by the taxpayer as a residence during the year. Section 280A(d) generally compares personal-use days with the greater of 14 days or 10% of the days rented at a fair rental price. Publication 527 applies that framework to homes and vacation properties.

Count every day the residence is actually rented, not merely the days rented to the owner's company. A weekend rented to a third party can consume part of the same fewer-than-15-day ceiling. Maintain one property-level log that includes the renter, purpose, rate, and supporting document for every rental day.

The current IRS explanation is in Publication 527 and Tax Topic 415. Both explain that rental income is not reported and rental-use expenses are not deducted when a residence is rented for fewer than 15 days.

Section 280A(g) answers the homeowner's income question. It does not automatically approve the payer's deduction. The business must still show that the meeting or event had a real business purpose, the cost was ordinary and necessary for that business, and the related-party rent was reasonable.

That is why the strongest file starts with the business need, not the tax result. Record the decision the group needed to make, why an off-site or residential venue suited the work, who attended, what happened, and how the quoted rate compared with local venues available on the same date.

Sinopoli v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2023-105, did not create the 14-day rule. It is useful because the dispute put related-party rent, meeting evidence, and local market value in front of the Tax Court. The court allowed substantially less rent than the S corporation claimed after examining the records and comparable local space.

The planning lesson is narrow and practical: a statute can exclude qualifying income while the business still loses an inflated or poorly supported deduction. Meeting minutes alone do not establish the venue's market rate. A market quote alone does not establish that a business meeting occurred. Keep both sides of the file.

Articles sometimes cite “Treas. Reg. §1.280A-1” as if it were a current final regulation. The current eCFR does not list a final Section 1.280A-1 in Part 1. Older Federal Register materials include proposed Section 280A regulations, but proposed text should not be presented as a binding final regulation without checking its adoption history.

For a current working authority chain, start with the enacted statute, current IRS publications and return instructions, and applicable case law. Use old proposed-regulation text only as historical context after verifying its status. This point is included because sophisticated readers should know the difference between a proposal and a final Treasury regulation.

1. 1

   Before the year starts

   Confirm the entity is a separate taxpayer, define legitimate meeting purposes, and start one residence-level day log.

2. 2

   Before each meeting

   Collect comparable venue quotes, write the agenda, identify attendees, and execute the rental paperwork.

3. 3

   After each meeting

   Finish minutes, issue the invoice, pay from the entity bank account, and attach the proof to that event’s file.

4. 4

   Before year-end

   Reconcile every rental day for the property, including unrelated third-party rentals, and stop before day 15.

5. 5

   At return preparation

   Give the CPA the entity ledger, homeowner file, day log, and state-residency facts so both sides are reported consistently.

Use the Augusta Rule calculator only after you have a defensible market rate. The calculator estimates the opportunity; it cannot establish the deduction.