The Augusta rule: host the company meeting at your place

Who this is for

• Owners of a home they also live in.
• Total rental days for the year of 14 or fewer.
• A company with a real business purpose for the space: board or shareholder meetings, strategy sessions, team planning days, training.
• It works most cleanly when the company is a separate taxpayer paying the rent: an S corp, C corp, or partnership.

The 2026 numbers

• Day limit: fewer than 15 rental days in the tax year. It’s set by statute, so it doesn’t change each year.²
• Rent amount: no IRS figure. Use fair-market comparables for similar local venues.

How to do it right

1. Hold real meetings. Set an agenda with attendees, topics, and decisions.
2. Price it fairly. Pull 2–3 quotes or listings for comparable local meeting spaces or event rentals (same size, same dates) and save screenshots with the date.
3. Put it on paper. Sign a short rental agreement and send an invoice from you to the company for each date.
4. Pay from the business account to your personal account, and book it as rent expense.
5. Keep minutes for each meeting, plus the agenda, the attendee list, and photos if you like.
6. Count your days. Keep a running log so you stay at 14 or fewer for the year.
7. Keep your personal return consistent. Under the under-15-day rule, you don’t report the rent or deduct rental expenses. Mortgage interest and property taxes are handled as usual.³

Run it by your CPA

Your CPA can confirm how the company books the rent for your entity type, and they’ll appreciate the tidy file.

Every business is a little different, so check with your CPA for your situation. Good CPAs are on your team, and they love an owner who shows up with the homework done.

More from Dad’s tax playbook

• When the S-corp election pays off: Payroll tax saved minus the cost of running an S corp. The two-column math and Form 2553 timing.
• Put your kids on payroll: By business type: when kids’ pay skips FICA, their standard deduction, and the Roth IRA angle.
• Put your spouse on payroll: Social Security credit in their name, their own 401(k) deferrals, and the QJV option.
• S-corp owner health insurance: W-2 Box 1 only, then Form 7206. One payroll setting, one form.
• The accountable plan: Get paid back for miles, phone and home office without it counting as wages.
• The Solo 401(k): Two hats, two contributions: 2026 limits, deadlines and the S-corp angle.
• Work Opportunity Tax Credit: watch this space: Lapsed for 2026 hires so far. Where it stands, and the playbook if Congress revives it.
• PTET: let your business pay the state tax: How pass-through entity tax elections work around the personal SALT cap.
• Dial in your W-4: Step 2(c), Step 3 and Step 4(c) for owners, spouses and kids on payroll.
• S-corp reasonable salary by profession: pay ranges for 15 professions, the IRS factors and a one-page salary memo.

Payroll Dad is a cartoon run by a real small family business. This is general education, not tax advice for your situation.