House Hacking Rental Question

[Account Closed]

My goal is to buy a home by Nov 2020 (before 25th birthday) and make it my principal residence. I am interested in house hacking and renting to some friends I have in the area to start building up equity in the property before utilizing some of those funds for a rental. So I have a few questions.

1) when house hacking.. other than the rental agreement, what paperwork is required to ensure I am covered from a legal perspective?

2) Is it legal to accept rental payments as an owner of a principal residence?

3) If yes, from a financial and tax perspective... am I better off to claim their rental payment as income and write off some of my housing expenses?

4) Or, should I just accept their payment without claiming it as income? (I’ve been informed this strategy could be seen as tax evasion)

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

[Russell Brazil]

1) Thats it, just a lease

2) Yes

3) Report as rental/border income, be sure to depreciate portion of house used as rental

4) Many people do, but that is tax evasion.