Is my rent reimbursement check for broken HVAC considered taxable income?

The W9 is primarily for identification purposes, not necessarily an indication that the payment will be treated as taxable income. Property management companies often require W9s for their records and reporting requirements. In general, rent reimbursements due to habitability issues are typically not considered taxable income - they're classified as a reduction of your rent payment rather than new income. It's essentially returning money you already paid, as you correctly noted. That said, the company may still issue a 1099-MISC if the amount exceeds $600, simply because they're required to report payments. If you receive a 1099, you would report it on your tax return but also report an offsetting deduction so it doesn't affect your taxable income. Keep documentation of the HVAC issues and the reason for the reimbursement.

I went through something similar with my apartment last year when they had to reimburse me for a major water leak. I found this great tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out exactly how to handle it. You can actually upload your lease agreement and any correspondence about the reimbursement to the site, and it analyzes the documents to tell you the correct tax treatment. It confirmed for me that my reimbursement wasn't taxable income and explained exactly why - saved me from potentially paying taxes I didn't need to. It also gives you specific instructions for how to handle it if they do end up sending you a 1099 form incorrectly. Seriously worth checking out if you're stressed about this!

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai and it was super helpful! I uploaded my lease and the email from my property manager about the cleaning charges. The analysis showed my landlord was charging nearly double the standard rate for carpet cleaning in my area. The site generated a formal dispute letter with references to my state's tenant laws that limit what they can charge. My landlord backed down immediately when I sent it and refunded most of the deduction. It also confirmed what others said here about rent reimbursements not being taxable income. Definitely worth the time!

If the property management company is being difficult about the W9 or ends up incorrectly sending you a 1099, you might need to talk to someone at the IRS to get this straightened out. I spent HOURS trying to get through to them last year for a similar issue. I eventually found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which is this service that gets you through to an actual IRS agent, usually within 15-45 minutes instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that property damage/habitability reimbursements aren't taxable income and helped me file the right form to contest the incorrect 1099 my landlord sent me. Saved me from paying taxes on money that shouldn't have been taxed.

I have to eat my words and admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After my property manager insisted on sending me a 1099 for my rent reimbursement, I tried calling the IRS myself for three days straight with no success - either got disconnected or was told the wait time was 3+ hours. Finally gave Claimyr a try and got connected to an IRS agent in about 25 minutes. The agent confirmed this shouldn't be treated as taxable income and walked me through exactly how to handle the incorrect 1099. They even put notes in my file in case there were questions later. Honestly saved me potentially hundreds in incorrect taxes plus all the stress of wondering if I was doing it right. Sometimes it's worth paying for the shortcut.

Just want to add - make sure you keep ALL documentation about the HVAC issues. Take photos of any correspondence, save emails, keep receipts if you had to stay elsewhere or buy fans/portable units. I had a similar situation last year and the property management company tried to claim later that the reimbursement was for "inconvenience" rather than uninhabitability, which has different tax implications.

I'm a property manager (not yours obviously lol) and I can tell you we always request W9s for any payment over $600, even when it's not taxable income. It's just company policy for record-keeping and because our accounting system requires it. Our legal team makes us do it even when we know the payment won't be reported as income.

I'm going through something very similar right now! My landlord had to reimburse me for a busted water heater that left me without hot water for 3 weeks. They also asked for a W9 before cutting the check, which had me worried. After reading through all these responses, I feel much better about it. The key thing I'm taking away is that the W9 request itself doesn't mean it's taxable income - it's just their standard procedure for payments over a certain amount. I'm definitely going to keep detailed records of everything like Miguel suggested, and make sure any documentation clearly states it's a "rent reduction" rather than compensation for inconvenience. It sounds like the specific wording really matters for tax purposes. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world advice that's hard to find elsewhere!