The IRS publications on Short-term rental property leave me cold. Is there an easy guide to follow to determine what deductions are available; strategies for tax avoidance; pitfalls to avoid; the distinction between expenses and liabilites; discussion of depreciation; Whether it is better to have long-term or short-term rental in vacation area. Thanks to all you Tax mavens out there....
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Well, you should definitely looked at IRS Publication 527, Residential Rental Property (Including Rental of Vacation Homes)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p527.pdf

That is a pretty good source of information. If you were left cold, what were you looking for?

IRS Pubs. are probably the most easy-to-read, free, public domain sources of tax information out there. That's why they're so frequently cited here. They're actually kind of a pro-government "Tax Law for Dummies", but considering the subject matter, they're pretty good.

They don't out-and-out mislead you, but they will not tell you if a topic is controversial; and they certainly will not tell you anything but the IRS' official position on a topic. For that, professionals subscribe to expensive reference materials, which formerly filled library shelves, and we now obtain online.

Bill