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My apartment management offered me $1k worth of a rental concession with a gift card for lease renewal.
They are now also asking me to fill out a W-9 - I was wondering if someone had any suggestions/perspective on this request by my leasing office.
1. Is this a common thing for them to do? I don't work for them nor are they a bank offering me interest income of any sort
2. I've had other gift cards in the past where the offering party never asked for a W-9.
3. How will this W-9 impact me should I fill it out and give it to the rental office - do I become obligated to consider it as additional income and then report it in my income ? Presumably, I'm actually getting less than what the promised amount is worth ($1k) then - not a good deal for me. I would imagine it wouldn't make much dent in the tax I have to pay in the year anyway.
4. Should I fill out a W-9 for them? If i decline, are they obligated to honor the rental concession since its written in the lease agreement (although as a gift card. Ofcourse, no disclosure was made to me that receipt of a gift card would impact my income for the year)
Did you bother to ask them the purpose of the w-9?
What is there to ask as far as their purpose for requesting the W-9? If the total payouts ("prizes and awards" or "other income payments") are over the $600 that the IRS requires to be reported as income, then a W-9 needs to be completed by OP. The LL then submits a 1099-MISC for the total payout amount to the IRS and the OP at the end of the tax year, and then the OP needs to report it as income with their taxes by following the instructions on their applicable tax forms filed.
So, either you accept it or not. Your choice. This is not a rental question, it is actually a tax question, but as long as you are here....
My apartment management offered me $1k worth of a rental concession with a gift card for lease renewal.
They are now also asking me to fill out a W-9 - I was wondering if someone had any suggestions/perspective on this request by my leasing office.
1. Is this a common thing for them to do? I don't work for them nor are they a bank offering me interest income of any sort
2. I've had other gift cards in the past where the offering party never asked for a W-9.
3. How will this W-9 impact me should I fill it out and give it to the rental office - do I become obligated to consider it as additional income and then report it in my income ? Presumably, I'm actually getting less than what the promised amount is worth ($1k) then - not a good deal for me. I would imagine it wouldn't make much dent in the tax I have to pay in the year anyway.
4. Should I fill out a W-9 for them? If i decline, are they obligated to honor the rental concession since its written in the lease agreement (although as a gift card. Ofcourse, no disclosure was made to me that receipt of a gift card would impact my income for the year)
Many thanks
Yes.
What more disclosure do you need? Do you not know that when you receive money you need to report it on your taxes? Public education really needs to do a better job if you think any money is tax exempt, ever. My uncle just got $600 in company stock and he knows he has to report that stock as income this year.
Yes - I did ask them why I had to fill out a W-9 and the response was because the gift card is $1k or above (no where on the IRS website did i find a $1k threshold limit. And now, I hear a $600 limit - which makes all of this sound like a pretty shady deal by the leasing folks).
And yes, I'm well aware that "income" needs to be reported for taxation purposes. I do not see this as an income however. Last year on renewal the concession came as a rental credit - i paid less in rent. However, had i known that the gift card would be treated as "Income" I would have negotiated at the time of lease renewal that the concession be applied as rental credit and not a "gift" card.
Not everyone is aware of such nuances so such "disclosures" are courtesies that must be offered as a fair practice. Now out of no desire of my own, I'm going to be forced to accept this "gift" (because my signing of this lease was based on the fact that rental concession will be offered so I'm not willing to forgo it) of having to pay additional tax and get less than what i had bargained for in rental credit.
Yes - I did ask them why I had to fill out a W-9 and the response was because the gift card is $1k or above (no where on the IRS website did i find a $1k threshold limit. And now, I hear a $600 limit - which makes all of this sound like a pretty shady deal by the leasing folks).
And yes, I'm well aware that "income" needs to be reported for taxation purposes. I do not see this as an income however. Last year on renewal the concession came as a rental credit - i paid less in rent. However, had i known that the gift card would be treated as "Income" I would have negotiated at the time of lease renewal that the concession be applied as rental credit and not a "gift" card.
Not everyone is aware of such nuances so such "disclosures" are courtesies that must be offered as a fair practice. Now out of no desire of my own, I'm going to be forced to accept this "gift" (because my signing of this lease was based on the fact that rental concession will be offered so I'm not willing to forgo it) of having to pay additional tax and get less than what i had bargained for in rental credit.
I agree- I wouldn't report it as income. If your rent is $2k/mo, you pay $24k per year in rent. The concession makes it so you pay $23k per year in rent. You don't have $1k in income until the concession is $25k for the year.
All that said, they probably are asking for the W-9 because the money is going out of their accounts payable department. It's not a big deal to sign it and give it back- they are going to deduct the payment and they get the same treatment no matter how they treat it, since it reduces their income by $1k. This doesn't make it income to the recipient.
What more disclosure do you need? Do you not know that when you receive money you need to report it on your taxes? Public education really needs to do a better job if you think any money is tax exempt, ever. My uncle just got $600 in company stock and he knows he has to report that stock as income this year.
If you got a discount on a car or a home would you report it as income?
many times the answer is it depends on what it is considered . kind of like we owe tax on some deals at times based on the full amount even though a coupon gives us a discount ..
right now chase offers 50,000 points for taking a sapphire reserve card and that is considered a rebate or cash back on expenses . it is totally tax free because it is considered a rebate
on the other hand chase is also offering 50,000 points for opening up a chase private client account if you have a sapphire reserve card .
those 50,000 points are considered a bonus like extra interest would be and it is going to be taxable and put on a 1099 . they tell you that in the paperwork .
if i give you a bonus that has a cash value you may very well be taxed on it . it is not a rebate on an expense . i can buy something at work for myself . i can use my cchristmas bonus money to buy it but it does not offset any tax due on the bonus . they are two separate transactions .
If you got a discount on a car or a home would you report it as income?
That's what I thought.
A discount is not the same as putting money or a gift card in your hands. Money cash or card is income and will be reported as such
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