Expanded 1099 Reporting for Rental Property Owners

The recently enacted Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 ("SBA") includes a wide range of tax breaks and incentives for small businesses, along with various revenue raisers to offset these same incentives. One SBA provision in particular has seemingly gone unnoticed by taxpayers. Beginning in 2011, recipients of rental income from real estate will be subject to the same information-reporting requirements as taxpayers engaged in a trade or business. Under the SBA, owners of real property who receive rental income will be required to issue a Form 1099-MISC to report payments totaling $600 or more during the course of the year for any expenses related to their rental properties. The provision will apply to payments made after December 31, 2010, and will include payments made to plumbers, carpenters or exterminators in the course of generating rental income.