Brief-term landlords may not have the ability to sh-sh-shake it off in relation to the extra taxes they could be responsible for. This follows the introduction of Rhode Island’s “Taylor Swift tax,” the nickname given to part-time residents who personal trip leases.
With different states following swimsuit, tensions are escalating between native municipalities, brokers, brokers, and the rich property house owners they characterize.
What’s the Taylor Swift Tax?
The so-called Taylor Swift tax—formally generally known as the Non-Proprietor-Occupied Property Tax Act—will take impact on July 1, 2026. It imposes an annual surcharge on non-primary residences (i.e., houses not occupied by their house owners or tenants for no less than 183 days a 12 months) that are valued at greater than $1 million.
The surcharge is about at $2.50 for each $500 of assessed worth above that threshold. Utilizing these metrics, Kiplinger calculated {that a} $3 million property would face a surcharge of roughly $10,000 yearly, along with common property taxes.
The tax was named after the pop celebrity as a result of Swift bought a mansion within the upscale Watch Hill part of Rhode Island in 2013, the place she is a part-time resident. It’s estimated that she will likely be liable for an additional $136,000 yearly when the brand new tax takes impact.
Proponents and Opponents
The objective of the extra levy, in response to the state, is to elevate income that helps housing initiatives whereas lowering the variety of residences that stay vacant for a lot of the 12 months. Within the case of short-term landlords, this may very well be devastating to their backside line, as they’d not solely be taxed on the income they make as a landlord, but in addition from the Taylor Swift tax too, in the event that they hire the house for greater than 183 days a 12 months however not as a long-term rental.
The brand new tax has not been properly obtained by many inside the true property trade. “These are individuals who simply come right here for the summer season, spend their cash, and pay their fair proportion of taxes,” Donna Krueger-Simmons, gross sales agent with Mott & Chace Sotheby’s Worldwide in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, instructed CNBC. “They’re getting penalized simply because in addition they stay some place else.”
“You’re simply hurting the individuals who help small enterprise,” Lori Joyal of the Lila Delman Compass workplace in Watch Hill, instructed CNBC. “You’re chasing away the individuals who spend many of the cash in these cities.”
Brokers worry that the tax might backfire on trip householders, who may select to spend their cash on close by trip cities with much less stringent tax legal guidelines.
Different States Are Implementing Comparable Taxes
Montana
Montana just lately handed reforms set to take impact in 2026, which equally distinguish between major residences and long-term leases versus secondary/trip houses and short-term leases. The state skilled an inflow of latest residents from New York and different main cities through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Montana’s new system would require non-primary residents and short-term rental house owners to pay a flat price of 1.90% starting in 2026, whatever the property worth. Nevertheless, houses used as major residences or for long-term leases can qualify for decrease, tiered charges, relying on market values, in response to the Montana Division of Income.
There are caveats to Montana’s program. Owners who stay of their residences for no less than seven months of the 12 months, or have long-term leases, might qualify for decreased charges and a one-time rebate for 2025, in response to tax compliance web site Avalara. The location additionally estimates that second houses and higher-value properties will bear a larger proportion of the tax burden on account of their larger tax charges.
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Cape Cod is contemplating becoming a member of close by Rhode Island in taxing prosperous part-time residents. Nevertheless, somewhat than an annual tax, Cape Cod will apply a “mansion tax” within the type of a 2% actual property switch tax on gross sales of over $2 million. Proponents argue that it might generate round $56 million yearly for inexpensive and year-round housing.
Rob Brennan, chief authorized officer on the nonprofit group Housing Help, instructed Cape Cod’s native authorities web site:
“This is now not a cyclical scarcity—it’s an existential disaster. With no everlasting, predictable supply of funding, we can’t help housing that working Cape Codders can truly afford. There’s no approach out of this disaster with out daring, systemic options. The $2,000,000 residence turning into $2,040,000 doesn’t cease second-home consumers.”
Conversely, full-time residents in Chatham, Cape Cod, will obtain a 35% property tax exemption as of July 1, 2026.
“The huge quantity of wealth on this city in residential property is held by a disproportionate quantity of people that aren’t residents of this city,” Chatham group board member Seth Taylor instructed the Cape Cod Chronicle. “I don’t assume it’s an excessive amount of to ask to have a look at this as a sensible approach to assist the middle-income people that we are saying we wish to have in our group.”
Chatham and 10 different communities on the Cape and islands, in addition to six different cities and cities throughout the state, together with Boston, have adopted a residential tax exemption.
California
Los Angeles’ “mansion tax,” generally known as Measure ULA, imposes a 4% switch tax on property gross sales between $5 million and $10 million, and a 5.5% tax on gross sales above $10 million to help inexpensive housing and homeless prevention applications. Nevertheless, the tax has just lately been beneath scrutiny and will be eradicated to encourage improvement.
“It was bought as a mansion tax, which suggests large homes for wealthy individuals, but it surely truly had a chilling impact on housing building, notably flats,” former Meeting Speaker Bob Hertzberg, who was tapped by Mayor Karen Bass to work out the main points of the legislative proposal, instructed the Los Angeles Instances.
Issues Brief-Time period Rental House owners Ought to Maintain In Thoughts
If you happen to personal a short-term rental in states like Rhode Island or Montana, you will want to pay explicit consideration to:
- The variety of days you reside within the property personally as a major residence versus the times you hire it.
- Maintain data of residency use dates versus short-term and mid-term rental occupancy.
- Weigh the earnings generated from the rental versus the tax payable by not occupying it to qualify for residency restrictions to calculate the perfect use of your property.
Ultimate Ideas: Grey Areas
I’d by no means advocate discovering methods to avoid the brand new guidelines, however there are some grey areas that astute traders might benefit from.
If you happen to stay in a piece of your property whereas additionally utilizing it as a short-term rental, your tax legal responsibility will likely be decided primarily based on the share of the home you occupy. In actuality, it’s unlikely that an IRS consultant will go to to confirm the apportioned use of your rental.
If sure areas, such because the kitchen and TV areas, are collectively used, their delineation turns into much more opaque. Throw ADUs, completed basements, and attics into the combo, and who lives in what elements of the property presents an fascinating proposition for an accountant who is aware of how far to bend the foundations.
Conversely, and fewer doubtless to attract consideration, is to merely ramp up your short-term earnings as a lot as doable whereas benefiting from renovation and depreciation tax deductions. Pay the brand new taxes as required, and revel in an excellent night time’s sleep.
