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How to track short-term rental income in Canada

Short-term rental income has a rule that long-term rentals do not. Your records need to show the rental was allowed where it is.

Not tax advice. This is general information, not advice for your situation. Date checked: October 23, 2026. Rules can change, so read the sources at the bottom.

What counts as short-term

The CRA's rental income guide says a short-term rental is a residential property rented, or offered for rent, for less than 90 consecutive days. Short-term rents are shown on line 8140 of the T776. They are included in line 8141 and in total gross rents on line 8299. The related expenses are totalled on line 9365.

The permit rule

For tax years after 2023, the CRA says you cannot deduct expenses tied to a non-compliant short-term rental. A non-compliant one is in a province or municipality that does not permit it, or one that does not meet registration, licensing or permit rules. A residential property includes any part of a house, apartment, condo, cottage, mobile home, trailer, houseboat or similar.

For 2024, a short-term rental in a province or municipality that requires registration, a licence or a permit counted as compliant for the whole year if it met those requirements by December 31, 2024.

What the CRA says to keep

The CRA says to keep books and records, including proof the property was somewhere that permits short-term rentals and that it met registration, licensing and permit rules. In practice that means a saved copy of your permit or registration, with its number and dates.

How the denied amount works

The CRA says that for tax years after 2023, the non-compliant amount is A × B ÷ C. A is the expenses you could otherwise deduct. B is the days the property was a non-compliant short-term rental. C is the days in the year it was a short-term rental.

The CRA's tax tip gives an example. A condo owner needs a city licence, but gets it on July 1, 2025. The unit was offered for rent for the first 181 days of the year without one. Revenue is $75,000 and expenses are $60,000. The denied amount is $60,000 × 181 ÷ 365, or $29,753. The owner can deduct $30,247, so the profit for tax is $44,753 instead of $15,000. That is the CRA's illustration, not your number. The T776 has a chart for this.

What to log for every stay

  • Check-in and check-out dates, and the number of nights.
  • The platform and the booking reference.
  • The amount you received, and the date you received it.
  • Platform fees and cleaning fees, kept as separate lines.
  • Whether the stay fell inside your permit dates.

Keep the platform's year-end summary, but do not rely on it alone. Match it to your bank deposits.

If you rent part of your home

The CRA says to split expenses by square metres or number of rooms, and the personal portion comes out. Log the rooms you rent and the date range for each guest.

GST/HST is a different test

For GST/HST, the CRA's memorandum on residential rentals draws the line at one month, not 90 days. A rental to the same individual for continuous occupancy of one month or more is exempt. A shorter stay is short-term accommodation. It is taxable if the supplier is a registrant, unless the rate is $20 or less per day. Small suppliers do not have to register. Read our guide on the $30,000 threshold.

So you can have a short-term rental for income tax under 90 days and still have an exempt rental for GST/HST over one month. Track both.

Keep records for six years

The CRA says to keep records generally for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to. Keep your permit copies for the same time.

A year-end check

  1. Total your nights and income by property.
  2. Compare to the platform summary and your bank.
  3. Confirm your permit covered every night you rented.
  4. Write down any gap, and ask a tax professional about it.

Also read our landlord T776 basics.

Sources

Date checked: October 23, 2026. Not legal, tax or accounting advice. Rules change, so check the official pages before you act.

Want this in a ready-to-use tool? The tracker is a spreadsheet for rent received and expenses by property, laid out along the T776 lines. See the Canadian Landlord Rental Income and Expense Tracker (CA$24) or Get your kit.

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