How do I report my short-term rental income such as from Airbnb?

You can deduct reasonable expenses incurred to earn your rental income. 

If you rent out part of your home, you can claim only the portion of expenses that relate to the rented part. To calculate the part you can deduct, take the area of the rental space divided by the total area of your home. Multiply that amount by the percentage of time the space was rented in the year, then by the total amount of each expense you’re claiming.

Common deductible rental expenses include: 

Common deductible rental expenses include: 

• Supplies, such as bedding and toiletries
• Insurance
• Interest and bank charges
• Professional fees, including legal and accounting fees
• Repairs and maintenance if you hired someone to do the work
• Property taxes
• Travel needed to collect rent, supervise repairs, or manage your properties
• Utilities
• Prepaid expenses

Starting January 1, 2024, there are restrictions on the income tax deductibility of rental expenses, for short-term rental, if the property is non-compliant.

A short-term rental property is a rental property that’s offered for rent for a period of less than ninety consecutive days.

A non-compliant short-term rental is when: 

• It’s in a province or municipality that:
  • Prohibits short-term rentals or
  • Requires a registration, license, or permit, which the owner doesn’t have

The disallowance of rental expense deductions for income tax is based on the ratio (percentage) of the number of non-compliant short-term rental days to all the days of short-term rental in the year. That percentage, applied to the amount of rental expenses attributable to all of the short-term rental days, gives us the disallowed rental expense amount.

Example: a property that earned net rental income of $3,000 has net rental income for tax purposes of $10,333 due a to non-compliant short-term rental.

• The property without the required permit was rented in 2024 for two continuous periods:
  • Period A: non-compliant short-term rental without the required municipal permit = 30 days
  • Period B: compliant short-term rental with the required municipal permit = 60 days 
• Rental income for the 90 days of short-term rental = $25,000
• Rental expenses for the 90 days of short-term rental = $22,000
• Net rental income for the 90 days of short-term rental = $3,000
• Ratio of non-compliant rental days to total short-term rental days = 30/(60 + 30) = ⅓ 
• Rental expenses disallowed for income tax = $22,000 x ⅓ = $7,333
• Rental expenses allowed for income tax = $22,000 - $7,333 = $14,667
• Net rental income for income tax = $25,000 - $14,667 = $10,333

Note: There’s a transitional grace-period rule. A non-compliant property brought ‌into compliance by December 31, 2024, is considered by the CRA to be compliant for income tax for the 2024 tax year.

Note: Complete your personal information and tax profile in TurboTax to unlock the Tax home screen.

1. From the Tax home screen, under Add to your return, enter rental and select Rental Properties.
2. At the Rental Profile screen, check the boxes that apply to your situation. Follow the prompts to complete the applicable information about the property, and the rental income and expenses.
3. When you arrive at the Rental Summary screen, review your information, then select Done With Rental Income.

1. From the menu, select Find, then enter rental in the search bar.
2. Select Rental property from the list, then Go.
3. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the Real Estate Rentals Statement screen, the Rental Profile screen, and the screens for providing info about the property, and the rental income and expenses.
4. You’ll arrive at the Rental summary screen. Review your information, then select Done With Rental Income.