Congress Repeals Reporting Requirement for Small Landlords

Last year, Congress buried a small provision in two lenghty pieces of legislation (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and the Small Business Jobs Act) that suddenly imposed “business-like” restrictions on people who were renting out so much as one small condominium.  Owners of such property were suddenly required to track all work done on their property that cost more than $600.  Moreover, owners then had to obtain particulars from the contractors who had performed such work, prepare 1099 forms for them, and then distribute the 1099 forms.

Given that many landlords simply own one unit or rent out their own residences, second homes, or homes they’ve inherited, the requirement to prepare and distribute 1099 forms seemed particularly onerous.  Most likely, many landlords would not even know about the new requirement and could later face penalties as a result.   

Apparently, Congress now realizes this.  Last month Congress passed legislation to repeal the provisions requiring landlords to prepare and distribute 1099 forms.  While this is a victory for the many small landlords out there, most of them do not even know about it!