You generally must include in your gross income all amounts you receive as rent.
Use Form 3949-A to report alleged tax law violations by an individual, a business, or both.
How does the IRS know if I have rental income? The IRS has a number of ways to determine whether or not you have rental income. A few of these include reporting by third parties, reported income and expense discrepancies, audits and reviews, and public records.
If you are renting a home, apartment, or other residential space for personal use, you do not need to report your rent payments or file any forms with the IRS. These requirements apply only to businesses and not to individuals paying rent for their residences.
To report your rental income, you'll use Form 1040 and attach Schedule E: Supplemental Income and Loss. On Schedule E, you'll list your total income, expenses and depreciation for each rental property. Expenses include, advertising, auto and travel, insurance, repairs, taxes and more.
Deducting rent on taxes is not permitted by the IRS. However, if you use the property for your trade or business, you may be able to deduct a portion of the rent from your taxes. The amount you can deduct is based the how many square feet of the property is used for your business.