Tax Implications of Renting an Extra Room in Apartment?

Question

Greetings,

My wife and I live in a 3 bedroom apartment in New York City. We only use two of the bedrooms and have the third as a guest room for friends and family. However, we do rent/sublet the room to people sometimes on a weekly basis. Sometimes people will stay with us for 1 week, or sometimes several months. We just charge people a weekly or monthly rate to stay with us.

I'm curious if there are any tax implications to this I should be concerned about. I was thinking that this is really no different than living with roomates (even though people usually only stay a month or two). Also, since this is our primary residence it isn't really like we're doing it as a business.

Any additional information as to whether this is taxable income or reportable to the IRS would be greatly appreciated.

Best,
Matt

I should add that I'm not the owner of the apartment, I'm just a renter myself.

Answer 1

If you are renting, and the people who stay there are just paying a share of the rent, then you're right, it's just like roommates and you would not have to claim it as income.

If you own the apartment, then YOU are receiving their rent, not the landlord, and would have to declare it.