Rep. Charles B. Rangel and his beachfront villa in the Dominican Republic were put under the media microscope after it emerged that the congressman had neglected to declare some $75,000 worth of rental income from the property.

The New York Times reported on a contentious press conference with the congressman, who claimed everything from ignorance of the income to a simple language barrier that prevented him from getting financial statements from the resort. “Every time I thought I was getting somewhere, they’d start speaking Spanish,” Mr. Rangel said, according to the New York Times.

In the interest of translating what can be a complex set of tax rules for vacation home owners, here is a simple cheat sheet for navigating vacation rentals.

Do I need to report vacation rental income to the I.R.S.?

If you rented out your vacation home to short-term renters for less than 15 days of the year, you do not need to report that income. You can still deduct mortgage interest and property taxes for that property, just as you would on a primary residence. And even second homes outside of the U.S. can qualify for these deductions.

I rent my home out for several months a year. What do I need to know?

First off, if you rent out a property for 15 nights or more each year, you’ll need to report that income to the I.R.S. The good news is that reporting rental income means that you may be eligible to deduct other expenses associated with the cost of ownership. For instance, you can deduct the cost of having a property manager and small home repairs (if the home is being used as both a vacation home and a rental, only a portion of those expenses may be deductible.) Owners can even begin to depreciate the cost of larger improvements that serve to extend the life of the home.

The I.R.S also allows owners to take a loss on their rental, however there are a series of strict parameters, including the amount of time an owner personally uses the house, that restrict the ability to write off the loss.

To get the best tax benefits, am I limited in how much I can use the home?

Yes. The I.R.S. sets the personal usage bar at the greater of 14 days or ten percent of the total number of days the property was rented out. If you use the home more than that amount, the I.R.S. restricts the ability to write off any loss.

That said, ensuring that your accountant is well versed in allowable rental deductions is key. After all, even Rep. Rangel, the chairman of the tax-law-writing Ways and Means Committee, apparently couldn’t figure it out.