Do I need to issue a W9/1099 for rental payments to my LLC landlord?

You only need to issue a 1099 for rent if the property is used for your business. If this is your personal residence, you don't need to worry about it. If you're using part of your home as a business location, you'd only need to issue a 1099 if you pay more than $600 in rent annually that's attributable to the business portion. For example, if 25% of your home is used exclusively for business and your annual rent is $20,000, then $5,000 would be considered a business expense. In that case, yes, you'd need to get a W9 from your landlord and issue a 1099-MISC (or 1099-NEC depending on your specific situation). The real challenge you have is figuring out who legally receives your payments. Check your lease agreement carefully - there should be payment instructions that indicate the legal entity. You may need to contact one of the individuals on the lease and ask for clarification.

After reading this thread, I wanted to jump in and share something that helped me tremendously with a similar W9/1099 situation. I was absolutely lost trying to figure out all the paperwork for my business expenses, including rent for my home office. I ended up using https://taxr.ai which was a game changer. I uploaded my lease agreement and some related documents, and the AI analyzed everything and explained exactly what portion of my rent qualified for business deduction and confirmed I needed to issue a 1099 to my landlord. The system even generated a letter I could send requesting the W9! It saved me hours of research and probably prevented me from making costly mistakes.

I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after questioning it earlier. I decided to give it a try with my own LLC situation and rental agreement. It was surprisingly helpful - the system identified that my landlord was actually operating under a property management company and explained exactly what information I needed for the W9 request. The analysis showed me that I'd been miscalculating my home office deduction for years (I was only accounting for square footage but not considering shared spaces correctly). The platform generated all the documentation I needed for my records. Honestly wish I'd known about this sooner - would have saved me from an awkward back-and-forth with my landlord last year when I was trying to figure out the same 1099 issue.

If you're having trouble getting a W9 from your landlord, you're not alone. I spent WEEKS trying to reach someone who could provide this documentation for my business rental. I kept getting bounced between the property manager, the owner, and some management company. After multiple unanswered voicemails to the IRS for guidance, I found https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an actual IRS representative in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent clarified that I needed to make a reasonable effort to obtain the W9, but if the landlord refused after multiple documented attempts, I could file the 1099 with the information I had available. They also explained the proper filing procedure in this situation. Honestly, it saved me so much stress when I was facing tax deadlines.

I have to eat my words about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a probable scam, I was still stuck with my 1099 filing questions and getting nowhere with the IRS directly. With tax deadline approaching, I decided to try it as a last resort. To my complete surprise, I was connected to an IRS agent within 35 minutes (the system kept me updated with text messages about my place in line). The agent walked me through exactly how to handle missing W9 information and confirmed I wouldn't face penalties if I documented my attempts to obtain the information from my landlord. This saved me from paying my accountant for another hour of work trying to research the answer. Sometimes being wrong feels pretty good!

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if you're operating as an LLC, make sure you understand how you're being taxed. By default, a single-member LLC is treated as a disregarded entity for tax purposes, meaning you'll report business income and expenses on Schedule C of your personal return. In this case, you would still need to issue a 1099 for the business portion of rent if it's over $600. But if you've elected to be taxed as an S-Corp or C-Corp, the requirements are a bit different. Also, don't forget that starting in 2022, payment apps like Venmo and PayPal are issuing 1099-Ks for business transactions over $600, so if you're paying rent that way, it might already be reported.

Just wanted to add something important - make sure you keep documentation of all your attempts to get the W9 from your landlord. I had a similar situation and the IRS actually questioned my 1099 filing during a review of my return. I was able to show emails requesting the W9 multiple times, which satisfied them that I had made a "reasonable effort." Also, when you do get the W9, verify the TIN (Tax Identification Number) using the IRS TIN matching program if you can. Prevents headaches later if the information turns out to be incorrect!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation where I have a home office but my lease is under my personal name, not my LLC. One thing I learned from my accountant is that you should also consider the timing of when you formed your LLC versus when you signed the lease. Since your lease was signed before your LLC existed, you're personally liable for the rent payments (not your LLC), but you can still deduct the business portion as a business expense on your Schedule C. The 1099 requirement still applies because you're paying for business use, even though the lease isn't in your LLC's name. Also, a pro tip - when you do reach out to Pine Valley Properties for the W9, explain that you need it for tax compliance purposes and that it's a standard business requirement. Most property management companies deal with this regularly and should have a process in place. If they seem confused, you can even send them IRS Publication 1220 which explains their obligations as payees.