If you use a vacation home fewer than 14 days a year or less than 10 percent of the days it’s rented to outsiders each year, whichever is greater, then your home is an investment property. If you use the home 15 or more days a year or more than 10 percent of the days you rent it to outsiders, it’s a second home.
This makes a difference, for tax purposes. If you’re able to declare the property as a second home, you can collect up to 14 days of rental income without paying taxes on it. However, if it’s an investment, you would have to declare the income. Then you can deduct business expenses such as advertising, cleaning, maintenance, etc.
In calculating the days you use the property, "work days" don’t count toward the 14-day, 10 percent test. For instance, if you spent the day landscaping and installing new appliances, you were working on the house and not using it. You should keep a log for tracking your own activities; visitors can sign this log, too, as a "guest book."
