I own commercial rental property, I hired a property management company in 2016, do I need to file a 1099-MISC

[ToddL · Accepted solution]

You don't need to send the property management company a Form 1099-MISC, but they should probably be sending one to you.

The basic rule is that you must file a 1099-MISC whenever you pay an individual person or unincorporated independent contractor — that is, an independent contractor who is a sole proprietor or member of a partnership or LLC — $600 or more in a year for work done in the course of your trade or business.

Typically, the property management company would collect rents, arrange and pay for repairs, and send you a check for the net rental proceeds (less their management fee). That payment to you, as an individual, would require a Form 1099-MISC.

[QuickRick]

The 1099-MISC is required only if the recipient is not otherwise exempt from having the compensation reported. Use Form W-9 if you're in doubt about the status of the recipient. It has an option for the recipient to use to notify you that they are exempt, i.e., they are an incorporated entity or an LLC that has elected corporate tax status. Otherwise, if you pay them $600 or more for services, you should report what you pay them on Form 1099-MISC. That fact that they withhold their management fee from amounts they pay you does not change the fact that they were paid by you for their services.