Launching soon · Kindle + paperback
The $50,000 Deduction.
47 Write-Offs Every STR Host Should Be Claiming
Amanda owned three cabins in the Smokies for four years before her new CPA flagged it. Cost segregation. Furniture, fixtures, landscaping — depreciated separately from the building. She amended four years of returns and reclaimed $8,427 she had been spreading over 27.5 years. That is one of the 47 deductions in this book.
Kindle $2.99 · Paperback $24.99 · Reader code STRBOOK30 drops the companion Tax Season Bundle from $147 to $117 for 90 days after purchase.
What's inside
- The $8,427 cost-seg play (§168(k)) — DIY cost segregation on STR properties under ~$500K.
- Schedule E vs. Schedule C — the 7-day and 30-day tests that decide which form you file.
- Bonus depreciation under §168(k) stacked with §179 on furniture and appliances.
- The Augusta Rule (§280A) — 14 days of tax-free rent from your own STR LLC.
- The mileage deduction that survived an IRS audit at the IRS standard rate.
- 1099-NEC thresholds — when you must file for cleaners, handymen, and landscapers.
- Home office allocation — square-footage method vs. simplified, with the calculation worked.
- Per-diem meals on property runs — the IRS standard rate, the 50% rule, the receipts.
- Start-up costs (§195) — the $5,000 first-year deduction most second-year hosts forget.
- The 12 deductions QuickBooks routinely miscategorizes — and the right Schedule E line for each.
FAQ
- When does the book launch?
- The book is finished — all 17 chapters, the cover, interior typesetting, and CPA review are complete. The only remaining step is the Amazon Kindle + paperback listing, which is in final setup. Enter your email and we will notify you the day it goes live.
- What does the book cover?
- The 47 deductions Schedule E short-term rental filers most commonly miss. Cost segregation under §168(k), the Augusta Rule under §280A, the 1099-NEC $600 trigger, home-office allocation, mileage at the standard rate, the de minimis safe harbor, and 41 more — each tied to the Schedule E line it belongs on.
- Who is it for?
- Hosts running 1–10 short-term rentals as a real business. If you have ever finished a tax season thinking you left money on the table but did not know where, the book is the line-by-line walk-through.
- How does it relate to the workbooks?
- The book is the map. The workbooks (TAX-001 mileage log, TAX-004 Schedule E prep, TAX-010 cost-seg DIY, and the rest of the Tax Season Bundle) are the spreadsheets that capture the deductions chapter by chapter. Reader code STRBOOK30 takes the bundle from $147 to $117.
- Is this tax advice?
- No. It is general information about US federal tax law as it applies to short-term rentals. State law varies, facts and circumstances vary. Run any specific position past a qualified tax professional before filing a return based on the book.
The full toolkit
Free tools across the host journey.
The STR Ledger publishes the paid workbooks. The six sister sites cover every step before, during, and after — most of them free.
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Pre-buy
strbuyers.tools
DSCR, market score, comp analysis. Free.
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Analyzing
strhost.tools
Fees, profit, RevPAR, break-even. Free.
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Running
strops.tools
Turnover, dispatch, smart locks. Free.
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Optimizing
strguests.tools
House rules, welcome books, AI replies. Free.
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Auditing
listingaudit.tools
Title, photos, amenities, reviews. Free.
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Scaling
strmanuals.com
Operator runbooks and SOPs. Paid.
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