Augusta Rule FAQ
IRC §280A(g) is a real, powerful deduction — and one of the most hyped up strategies on social media. Here's what it actually requires, where taxpayers get it wrong, and how location and timing legitimately affect what you can deduct.
The Augusta Rule lets a homeowner rent their personal residence for fewer than 15 days per year and exclude that rental income from personal taxable income. When a business owner rents their home to their own business for legitimate business meetings, the business can deduct the rent under IRC §162 while the owner receives the income tax-free — provided the arrangement is documented, the rate is fair market, and the meetings have a real business purpose.
It can be meaningful — but the viral 'rent your house to your business for $1,500 a day, 14 days a year, tax-free' pitch oversimplifies a strategy that has very specific substantiation requirements. For some taxpayers (business owners in high-cost metros with genuine, regular business meetings) the deduction is substantial. For others (rural areas, low comparable rates, or a couple of meetings a year) the defensible deduction is much smaller. The IRS and Tax Court look closely at related-party rentals, and aggressive numbers without documentation are a frequent audit target.
Three places: (1) rent rates set far above what local comparable venues actually charge, (2) thin or missing documentation of the business meetings themselves — no agenda, no attendees, no minutes, (3) inconsistent reporting between the business return and the personal return. Sinopoli v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo 2023-105) is the leading cautionary case: shareholders rented their homes to their S corporation at rates the Tax Court found far above market, kept poor meeting records, and reported the income inconsistently. The court reduced the allowable rent to $500 per substantiated meeting — calling even that 'generous' — and disallowed the deduction entirely for meetings that weren't substantiated.
The Augusta Rule requires a fair market rental rate — what an unrelated third party would charge for a similar space in your area. A homeowner in San Francisco, Manhattan, Boston, or DC can often substantiate a much higher daily rate than a homeowner in a rural area, because comparable conference rooms, event venues, and short-term rentals in those metros genuinely cost more. This isn't unfair — it's the rule working correctly. Your defensible rate is tied to what your specific market actually charges, not a national average.
Yes — and this is one of the most overlooked planning levers. Comparable venue and short-term rental rates legitimately spike around major local events: convention weekends, sports championships, festivals, graduation weekends, holiday seasons, and (the rule's namesake) Masters week in Augusta, Georgia. If you can legitimately schedule a business meeting during a documented peak-pricing window, your fair-market comparables for that day are higher, which can justify a higher rental rate. The key word is 'legitimately' — the meeting still needs a real business purpose, real attendees, and real records. You're not inventing demand; you're aligning a real meeting with a period when your local market actually charges more.
At a minimum: (1) a written rental agreement between you and your business, (2) three or more comparable rental quotes from similar venues in your area on or near the rental date, (3) a meeting agenda and minutes for each rental day showing the business purpose, attendees, and topics, (4) proof of payment from the business to you, (5) consistent reporting on both returns — including the §280A(g) exclusion shown clearly on your personal return. This packet builder is designed to help you organize each of those.
You generally need to: own or legally control the dwelling, use it as a residence under §280A(d)(1) (personal use exceeds the greater of 14 days or 10% of days rented at fair value), rent it fewer than 15 days during the tax year, have a real business that pays the rent for an ordinary and necessary business purpose under §162, and price the rental at fair market value. Pure investment or rental properties don't qualify, and the 15-day cliff is absolute — rent 15 days and the entire exclusion is lost.
Possibly, but carefully. They cover different uses of the home and the documentation needs to make that clear so there's no double-dip. This is a question to walk through with your tax professional before filing.
It helps you organize the documentation: rental dates, comparable research, agendas, payment records, and a packet you can hand to your tax professional. It does not calculate, recommend, approve, or guarantee a rental rate. It does not determine whether you qualify, file your return, or guarantee IRS acceptance. Always review the packet with a qualified tax professional before relying on it.
Different users work with different qualified professionals, including CPAs, enrolled agents, tax attorneys, accountants, and tax preparers. This app uses "tax professional" broadly because the right reviewer depends on your situation.
Yes. The $27 Packet Builder is intended to be a complete DIY documentation tool. It helps you create the rental tracker, business-purpose log, rate-support notes, draft agreement, invoice, agenda, meeting notes worksheet, tax professional questions, and printable packet. Future upgrades may add convenience features, but the core packet is included.
No. You can use the app each time you need to document an Augusta Rule deduction. The $27 is currently for lifetime access, and if that ever changes, you will be grandfathered in.
The Packet Builder was created by a CPA who offers advisory support to business owners, but hiring our team is not required to use the tool. You can use the packet with your own qualified tax professional, accountant, enrolled agent, tax attorney, or advisor of choice. The tool helps you organize your facts and documentation. It does not replace professional tax, legal, or accounting advice.
Yes. Our team offers optional review calls for people who purchase the Packet Builder. Review calls may also be included for current tax and accounting clients, depending on the scope of their existing engagement. If review support is available for your purchase, instructions will be provided inside your packet experience.
No. The $27 Packet Builder is licensed for individual business owner use only. It is not licensed for tax professionals, accountants, advisors, firms, agencies, or consultants to use with clients, resell, copy, white-label, or include in paid services. If you are a tax professional and want to use this workflow with clients, email megan@myabundantia.com to request professional licensing options.
No. The core packet is included in the $27 product. Future upgrades may add convenience features like saved annual records, multi-property tracking, reminders, or expanded exports, but they should not be required to use the tool.
The review session is an optional appointment with a tax professional to walk through your projections, entity type, proposed rental amount, rate support, and documentation questions. The app itself does not provide tax advice, and the scope and pricing of advice depend on the professional's engagement terms.
The Packet Builder collects only the basic information needed to help create your Augusta Rule documentation packet. This may include your name, business name, email address, rental dates, business purpose notes, rate support notes, agreement details, invoice details, meeting notes, questions for your tax professional, readiness score information if you complete the free check, and basic payment status needed to unlock access. It does not collect your EIN, SSN, tax return, income details, bank account details, tax account login, IRS login, payroll records, bookkeeping files, or personal tax filing details.
No. If you prefer, you can choose "I'll add my name and business name later." The Packet Builder will leave those fields blank in your downloaded packet so you can complete them manually before sharing the packet with your tax professional.
No. The Packet Builder does not file anything with the IRS, connect to your tax accounts, or submit information to a tax authority. It helps you organize a documentation packet for review with your tax professional.
The Augusta Rule Packet Builder walks you through the substantiation step-by-step: qualification questions, rental dates, comparable research, meeting agendas, and a tax-professional-ready packet.
This tool is for educational and documentation-planning purposes only. It does not provide tax, legal, accounting, or financial advice. It does not guarantee tax savings, deductions, eligibility, IRS acceptance, or audit protection. The Augusta Rule's application depends on your specific facts, business structure, documentation, rental rate support, and professional guidance. Consult a qualified tax professional or attorney before using this strategy.