This article has been saved to your Favorites!

Tenants Don't Owe Tax On Virus Rental Assistance, IRS Says

By Theresa Schliep · 2021-03-25 19:03:42 -0400

Tenants who received rental assistance under a coronavirus relief law don't owe taxes on that aid, but landlords who receive those payments cannot exclude the funds, the Internal Revenue Service said in guidance Thursday.

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.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.