Renters who receive emergency rental assistance under the Consolidated Appropriations Act do not need to include those funds in their gross income, the IRS said in FAQs on its website. They also do not have to pay tax on funds they receive to pay utilities or home energy expenses, the IRS said.
But landlords or utility companies who receive those funds have to include the amounts in their gross income, according to the FAQs. The act, signed by former President Donald Trump in December, allows some state governments to distribute certain funds for households to use as rental and utility assistance as relief during the pandemic.
--Editing by Neil Cohen.
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