Ever thought of renting your home, or your vacation home, while you're away? Companies like Airbnb have made short-term rentals of vacation homes and personal residences accessible and easy for just about everyone. But be careful--there are tax consequences to renting out your home. As a host, you are subject to the income tax rules for residential rental property, so it's good to know a little bit about those rules before you post your living room on a property rental website.

If you choose to become a rental host for a service like Airbnb, you may receive an "Earnings Summary." If payment was accepted by credit card, you will receive a Form 1099-K (for Payment Card and Third-Party Network Transactions) reporting the gross amount of rent you earned during the calendar year. Regardless of how the income is accepted, that income must be reported on your Form 1040.

The rules regarding rental properties can be complex, especially for short-term rentals. "Short-term" is defined as an average rental period of less than seven days. The taxability of such income can range from fully taxable income to fully excludable, non-taxable income and non-deductible expenses. The tax treatment depends on your particular situation.