As you all know, there was a massive tax reform bill passed at the end of 2017. One of the big changes included in this bill was something called the Qualified Business Income Deduction. This deduction can allow a taxpayer to receive a deduction of up to 20% of Qualified Business Income. (Example: your business makes a profit of $100k. You would be able to reduce the $100k by $20k and only pay taxes on $80k). However, this is a very complicated new law and one of the many questions has been as to whether or not rental real estate qualifies for this deduction.
We have been waiting on further guidance from the IRS as to how the deduction is calculated and what businesses would qualify for this deduction. On January 18, 2019, the IRS issued further guidance on this subject in the form of a 247 page document. It has finally been clarified that the deduction will be allowed for those with rental properties. However, the IRS has stated that taxpayers who want to treat rental activity as a trade or business for the purpose of receiving this deduction must also comply with the Form 1099 information reporting requirement.
What this means to you is that if you are interested in taking this new deduction, you must issue Form 1099-Misc forms to any person or business that you paid over $600 for services. This would include any repairs, maintenance, management fees or lawn care, just to name a few.
Please contact our office if you have any questions or if you need assistance in preparing and issuing the Forms 1099-Misc and the 1096 transmittal form. The deadline is January 31, 2022 so time is of the essence. Any 1099-Misc forms issued after January 31, 2022 are subject to penalties.