Before you begin
What decides what a letting leaves you
Letting for stays of up to 21 nights at a time means registering with Fáilte Ireland by 31 December 2026 and paying tax on the profit, as trading or other income rather than rent. A lodger staying more than 28 days in a room in your own home can come under rent-a-room relief, which exempts rent up to a yearly limit from Income Tax, USC and PRSI. This works out the profit from each route and the tax it adds on top of your other income, at Revenue's 2026 rates. Guests, planning and the work involved are yours to weigh.
Count nights and rent for a normal year, not your best one.
Enter only costs that are wholly for the letting and that Revenue allows. Under rent-a-room relief none can be claimed, so they are money out but not tax-deductible.
Your other income decides which tax bands the letting profit falls into, so use the figure for the same tax year.
Reading the answer
Reading the two routes
The comparison is what is left after costs and tax, not the takings. Short lets often gross more and keep less.
A relief or a threshold can move the tax by hundreds of euro for a small change in profit, so test a cautious and a good year. The result shows the tax under the other classification of your short lets, and how close the rent is to the rent-a-room limit.
The result does not weigh guests, planning permission or the work involved. Those are your decision.
Boundaries
Assumptions and limitations
Working assumptions
- A room is part of your sole or main residence, and a separate property is not. Whole homes and detached units cannot use rent-a-room relief.
- A separate property is let under a tenancy registered with the Residential Tenancies Board, so Residential Premises Rental Income Relief of up to €1,000 applies.
- Your other income is pay or a pension. Rent is then charged PRSI as unearned income once it passes €5,000, and short lets run as a business pay the self-employed rate with its €650 minimum.
- The letting profit sits on top of the other income you enter, taxed at the rates and bands in force from 1 October 2026.
Where to be careful
- Rent-a-room relief does not apply to rent paid by your own child, or to payments from your employer for accommodation.
- PRSI exemptions at pensionable age, other unearned income, VAT, and tax in the year you start or stop are not modelled.
- Planning permission, tenancy law and the Residential Tenancies Board's rules are not assessed here.
Worked example
The same question, answered end to end
A homeowner on €45,000 comparing 100 short-let nights at €85 with a lodger paying €650 a month in the spare room.
What was entered
- A room in the owner's own home; €45,000 of other income, a €44,000 band and €4,000 of credits.
- 100 short-let nights at €85, a 3% platform fee and €1,500 of costs.
- A lodger for 12 months at €650 a month, with €600 of costs.
How it is worked out
Short lets: 100 nights at €85 is €8,500 of takings. Take off the 3% fee and the €1,500 of costs and the profit is €6,745.
That profit sits on top of €45,000 of pay, which is already past the band, so it is charged 40% Income Tax and 3% USC. Run as a business, PRSI is 4.35% of the profit or the €650 minimum, whichever is greater, and here that is €650.
Lodger: 12 months at €650 is €7,800 of rent, under the relief limit, so no tax is due. The €600 of costs leaves €7,200.
What the tool returns
- Left after tax: short lets
- €3,195
- Left after tax: longer let
- €7,200
- Tax on short lets
- €3,550
Common questions
Questions about this tool
Can I use rent-a-room relief for Airbnb?
No. The relief generally excludes lettings of 28 consecutive days or fewer. Revenue says this puts beyond doubt that it does not cover short-term tourist accommodation based on home sharing, including through online booking sites.
Do I have to register a short let?
If you let for up to 21 nights at a time, you register each unit with Fáilte Ireland by 31 December 2026. The register opens on 1 December. The Department of Enterprise page sets out the detail.
How is Airbnb income taxed?
Revenue says short-term accommodation booked through an online site is not rental income. It is trading income if you run it as a trade, such as a guesthouse, and other income if it is occasional. Capital allowances and pre-trading costs are not allowed against it.
What happens if my rent is over the relief limit?
None of it is relieved. The whole profit is taxed in the normal way, not only the part over the limit. Where a rent at the limit would leave you more, the result says how much.