Can I rent my own house to my S-Corp for quarterly shareholder meetings?

Thanks for the info. Quick question - would I be able to deduct part of my mortgage interest and property taxes for the days/rooms used for these meetings? Also, how do I calculate a "reasonable" rate? Like, would it be comparable to a hotel conference room or something else?

For expenses, you can typically deduct direct expenses for the specific rental activity (like cleaning costs before/after meetings) and a portion of your general home expenses (mortgage interest, property taxes, utilities, etc.) based on both the percentage of your home used and the time it's used for business. For example, if you use 20% of your home for 4 days a year, you'd calculate that accordingly. For a reasonable rate, research what local businesses charge for similar meeting spaces. Look at small conference rooms at hotels, coworking spaces, or even restaurants with private rooms. Document these comparable rates to support your rental price. Make sure your rate aligns with these market rates - going significantly higher might raise red flags.

Did they actually give you the exact wording to use in your agreements? I'm in a similar situation but worried about getting the documentation wrong.

I'm skeptical about these online tools. How can a website really know what would pass an IRS audit? Did you actually get audited afterward or are you just assuming their advice was correct?

They provided template language specifically designed for S-corporation shareholder meeting rental agreements that I could customize. It covered all the key elements like business purpose, duration, payment terms, and the "arm's length" requirements. They also included sample meeting minutes templates that properly document the business activities conducted. I haven't been audited, but my CPA was actually impressed with the documentation when I showed him. The recommendations were all backed by specific tax code references and court cases where similar arrangements were challenged and upheld. They even pointed out a 2018 tax court case where an S-corp owner got in trouble for not having proper documentation for home rentals, which gave me specific guidance on what to avoid.

How does that even work? I thought it was impossible to get through to the IRS these days. Do they just keep calling for you or something?

Yeah right. Nothing gets you through to the IRS faster. This sounds like a scam to get people's personal info or money. Did you actually talk to a real IRS agent or just someone claiming to be one?

They have a system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When they reach an actual IRS representative, you get a call to connect you directly to that person. It's not magic - they're just using technology to handle the frustrating part (the endless waiting and disconnects). I definitely spoke with a real IRS agent - they transferred me directly to the IRS call once they got through. I verified it was legitimate by asking the agent questions only the IRS would know about my previous tax filing. The service just gets you past the hold time, they're not intermediaries for the actual conversation.

Have you ever had any pushback from your CPA about this arrangement? My accountant seems really nervous about the whole idea even though it seems legit.

My first accountant was actually against it and gave me general warnings about "related party transactions" without specific guidance. I switched to a CPA who specializes in small business tax strategies, and she was completely comfortable with the arrangement - but she was very specific about the documentation required. The key factors that made my new CPA comfortable were: 1) We only do this for legitimate quarterly board meetings, not regular work, 2) We have extensive documentation including photos and detailed minutes, 3) The rental rate is reasonable and documented, and 4) We treat each rental as a separate transaction rather than a recurring payment. I'd suggest looking for a CPA with specific experience in S-corp strategies rather than a generalist who might be overly cautious about perfectly legitimate tax positions.

It would go on Schedule E as rental income. Even though it's only 4 days a year, it's still considered rental income. In TurboTax, you'd add a property in the rental section, but you'd only allocate expenses based on the portion of the year it was actually rented. Make sure you check "property used personally" and enter the correct number of days rented vs. personal use.

This is really helpful advice about establishing everything upfront! I'm just getting started with my S-corp and want to make sure I do this right from the beginning. Quick question - when you mention renting for "occasional client meetings," do you handle those any differently tax-wise than the shareholder meetings? Like, does it matter that one is internal corporate business versus external client-facing activities? I want to make sure I'm not creating any complications by mixing different types of business rentals.

Great question! From a tax perspective, both types of rentals are treated the same way - they're both legitimate business expenses for the S-corp and rental income for you personally. The key is that both serve clear business purposes. For client meetings, I make sure to document the business purpose just like I do for shareholder meetings - who attended, what was discussed, why my home was the appropriate venue (maybe client confidentiality, or our office was unavailable, etc.). The rental rate should be consistent across all business uses. Actually, having both types of rentals can strengthen your position because it shows this isn't just a scheme to benefit shareholders - you're genuinely providing a business service to the corporation. Just make sure you're consistent with documentation, rates, and formalities for all rentals regardless of the specific business purpose. The only thing to watch out for is not overdoing it frequency-wise. Keep it occasional and legitimate, and you should be fine mixing different types of business rentals under the same arrangement.

Great questions! From what I've researched and discussed with my CPA, related-party transactions don't automatically trigger audits, but they are scrutinized more heavily IF you get selected for audit through other means. The key is making sure everything is thoroughly documented and at fair market rates - which it sounds like everyone here is doing properly. Regarding the passive vs. non-passive question on Schedule E - this one trips up a lot of people! For occasional home rentals like quarterly meetings (typically under 7 days average rental period), it's generally treated as non-passive income. However, if you're not materially participating in a rental "business" (which 4 days a year probably wouldn't qualify as), it might still be passive. The rules can be tricky here. I'd definitely recommend getting specific guidance from a CPA on the passive activity classification, since it affects how you can use any rental losses and has implications for the net investment income tax. The good news is that most of us doing quarterly meetings are probably generating rental profits anyway, so the passive/non-passive distinction matters less than if we were trying to deduct rental losses.

This is incredibly helpful, especially the part about documenting your pricing methodology! I'm just starting to explore this for my S-corp and was struggling with how to justify my rental rate beyond just "it seems reasonable." Your approach of calculating the square footage percentage and applying it to daily housing costs gives a solid foundation that would be easy to defend if questioned. Then comparing that baseline to market rates seems like the perfect way to ensure you're in the right ballpark. I'm curious - when you mention "cleanup receipt if applicable," are you typically having professional cleaning done after these meetings, or are you referring to something else? I'm trying to figure out what legitimate expenses I might be able to deduct against the rental income. Also, do you happen to know if there's any limit on how many times per year you can do this before it starts looking like a regular rental business rather than occasional use? I've seen conflicting information about whether there's a specific threshold the IRS uses. Thanks for sharing such a detailed and practical approach!

Great question about cleanup costs! I don't typically do professional cleaning - the "cleanup receipt" I mentioned is usually just receipts for any supplies I buy specifically for preparing the space (like extra coffee, snacks for the meeting, or cleaning supplies if I need to deep-clean beforehand). These are direct expenses related to the rental that I can deduct against the rental income. Regarding frequency limits, there's no hard rule, but the IRS does look at whether you're operating a rental "business" vs. occasional use. Most tax professionals I've consulted suggest staying under 14 days per year total to avoid it being classified as a rental business, which would change the reporting requirements and potentially trigger self-employment tax issues. The key factors the IRS considers are: frequency, regularity, profit motive, and whether you're advertising or actively seeking rental opportunities. Since we're only doing quarterly meetings (4 times per year) for legitimate corporate purposes, we're well within the occasional use territory. One thing I learned from my CPA is that consistency matters more than the exact number - if you establish a pattern of quarterly meetings and stick to it, that looks more legitimate than irregular or increasing frequency that might suggest you're trying to maximize rental income rather than serve business needs.