Before changing your workflow: Clean books start with one account per property, not with a year-end spreadsheet.
One month of records, property by property
A record-keeping template, not tax advice. IRS Topic 415 explains the day-count rules; confirm your filing with a tax professional.
| Record | Where it comes from | Keep |
|---|---|---|
| Payouts | Airbnb earnings report | Matched to reservations |
| Platform fees | Reservation breakdown | Shown with the payout, not paid separately |
| Cleaning and supplies | Invoices and receipts | Tagged to the property |
| Personal-use days | Your calendar | For the IRS day count |
Separate the money before you track it
Open one account per property and route every payout into it and every expense out of it. Your bank statement then becomes the first draft of your books, and personal spending never has to be untangled later.
Baselane, for example, offers property-specific accounts with no monthly maintenance fees or minimums, and tags each transaction to a property and tax category. Baselane is a financial technology company, not a bank; its banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC.
Policy / product reference: Baselane: banking and bookkeeping for landlords. Numeric examples and worksheets are HostMetrio illustrations.
What the IRS rules turn on
IRS Topic 415 covers renting residential and vacation property. The rules depend on how many days you rent the home and how many days you use it yourself. This is a summary, not tax advice; confirm with a tax professional.
| Situation in IRS Topic 415 | What it means |
|---|---|
| You use the home as a residence and rent it fewer than 15 days | You do not report the rental income or deduct rental expenses |
| Personal use above the greater of 14 days or 10% of days rented at a fair price | The home counts as used as a residence |
| Used for both rental and personal purposes | Divide expenses by days of each use |
| Rental income and expenses | Generally reported on Form 1040 and Schedule E (Form 1040) |
Policy / product reference: IRS Topic 415: renting residential and vacation property. Numeric examples and worksheets are HostMetrio illustrations.
A monthly routine that keeps the books current
Do this once a month, not once a year. Airbnb’s earnings report lists payouts and their reservations, which is where every month starts.
- Download the month’s Airbnb earnings report.
- Match each payout to its reservations and fees.
- Tag cleaning, supplies, software and utilities to the property.
- Keep the receipt with each expense.
- Mark personal-use days on the calendar for the IRS day count.
Policy / product reference: Airbnb: Download your earnings. Numeric examples and worksheets are HostMetrio illustrations.
Reconcile this month’s payoutsIf you want the books to sort themselves
- Baselane
Property-specific bank accounts with no monthly maintenance fees or minimums, and automatic tagging by property and tax category.
Sources & evidence limits
Substantive editorial revision and primary-source review. Original examples use the tested financial model; vendor-account, device and independent expert testing have not been performed. Reconfirm fee, plan and compatibility details before acting.
Original hypothetical examples are educational scenarios. HostMetrio does not provide individual financial, tax, legal or safety advice.
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