US Tax information Book Recommendations

[Melanie58]

Hello, I have read some useful tax information here and on various websites, but I am looking for a comprehensive book that would be useful to someone renting out a room in their private home more than 14 days a year.  I love to read and reference real books.  It is okay if the book covers other short-term rental situations, but these are the questions I am looking for advice on:

-The difference between Schedule C and Schedule E

-How deducting mortgage expense impacts mortgage deduction on standard filing

-How losses work, and what advantages/disadvantages there are to running things break even/at a loss

-broad information re: record keeping

I checked amazon but didn't see much that was obvious.

I know I should probably hire a CPA, etc but realisitcally I'm not going to make more than maybe $3000, so I don't really want to pay someone unless I have to. 

[Allison2]

I had many of the same questions. I don't have a book suggestion for you, but I can share my experience with a CPA.

When I was setting up my place and checking out the different regulations, I got in touch with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), who were helpful in navigating some of the regulations in my area. They also recommended a few local CPA's who had done work with people doing similar short-term rentals.

The consultation was free and answered many of my questions, and I decided to have them do my taxes for the first year (which cost a little over $300). She was able to help me figure out which expenses I could deduct - I definitely would have missed a lot, or overestimated others, so it was really helpful. If I want to save money I can use last year's taxes as a template to do them myself in the future.

I'm a huge fan of book learning, but this was one case where it was worth getting expert advice for my exact situation. Might be worth looking into, even if you do nothing more than consult!