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The 5 Ws of a 1099-K

Don’t let your 1099-K stand in the way of business.

If you’re an Uber driver, run an Etsy shop, or rent out your home to AirBNB frequenters, then you might notice a new tax form that has found it’s way into your mailbox in recent years.

It’s nothing to stress over. This is generally a straightforward form to review, and easy to report on your tax return.

What is a 1099-K?

Form 1099-K, otherwise known as Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions, is one of the more recently introduced tax forms. It was created by the IRS in order to report income received from online electronic payments (e.g. credit cards, PayPal, debit cards, etc.) through third party processors. Prior to this form, many independent contractors who used online payment methods were left confused on how to report those sales on their tax returns.

Who gets a 1099-K?

Wondering if you’re one of the lucky ones who will get a 1099-K this year? The qualifications are somewhat more specific compared to other forms such as the W-2. With a 1099-K, it is based on sales volume.

Retailers who accept online credit card payments will receive a 1099-K from any business that processed their payments. However, the 1099-K is only mandatory if online processing meets the following stipulations:

  1. Sales volume is over $600 per year via credit card companies.
  2. Sales volume is over $20,000 and more than 200 individual transactions were made via third party processors.

Continue reading “The 5 Ws of a 1099-K”

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Tax Deductions for Landlords (Part 3)

Landlords can also deduct rental property depreciation…

In part 1 and part 2 of this article, we explained that the services and expenses that you paid for could be included as deductions on your tax return.

In addition to these expenses, you can deduct the depreciation of your rental property.

In other words, you can deduct the “wear and tear” costs of the rental property, including any improvements.

Confused? No worries! Keep reading and we’ll get to the bottom of what depreciation means, and explain what types of improvements you can include on your tax return.

What Does “Depreciation” Mean?

For tax purposes, you can deduct the cost of your property along with any improvements you made to it, in the form of depreciation.

Think of depreciation as a way to recover the costs associated with your rental property.

You won’t deduct the cost of buying or improving your rental property as one large tax deduction. Instead, you’ll spread the costs across the “life” of the property.

The amount you can depreciate is dependent on a variety of factors, such as how long the property (or improvement) will last and what it is. To learn more, visit IRS Publication 527, Residential Rental Property. 

What Qualifies?

Owning a piece of property does not automatically qualify you to deduct it’s depreciation value. To deduct the depreciation of a rental property, the IRS requires that you also meet the following criteria:

  • The property produces income (in other words, you rent it out).
  • The property has a “useful life”, meaning it will eventually wear out, get used up, etc. (For example, a house has a useful life while an unused piece of land you own does not.)
  • The useful life of the property is longer than one year. Continue reading “Tax Deductions for Landlords (Part 3)”
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Tax Deductions for Landlords (Part 1)

There are quite a few, often-overlooked expenses that landlords can report as a tax deduction.

If you own rental real estate, you must report the income you earned from this property on your federal tax return. You will also be required to pay tax on your rental income if you made a profit.

First, keep in mind that aside from the monthly payments you receive from your tenants, taxable rental income also includes:

  • advance rent payments
  • security deposits used as a final payment of rent
  • payments for canceling of a lease
  • property or services received in place of money, as rent

So, what’s considered a “rental expense”?

On the plus side, rental properties offer more tax benefits than most investments. In fact, you can deduct a majority of the rental expenses you had during the year. According to the IRS, you can report expenses related to the following:

  1. upkeep & maintenance of the property
  2. conservation & management of the property

Landlord tax deductions also include contract work!

Remember when you forked over thousands to a plumber after your tenant called complaining that the toilet wasn’t flushing?  How about that week the roof collapsed from snowfall and you were forced to track down a roofer?

These (often unexpected) headaches come along with life as a landlord. Fortunately, they are related to the upkeep and maintenance of the property and thus, tax deductible expenses. Continue reading “Tax Deductions for Landlords (Part 1)”