Property owner but do not receive rental income from home being rented out

[JoeDown]

I own a residence but don't live there. I have a family member who takes care of the property and rents it out and is paid directly by the tenant.  I receive no income from this nor do I incur any expenses.  Under tax law am I supposed to claim this rental income on my tax return or file any kind of tax forms? Is it fine for the landlord to report the rent income on his tax return?

[Mike9241]

i see issues. you are the owner, not the family member. the tenant who I assume is not related is paying rent.  is the rent fair value? who pays the expenses such as taxes, mortgage interest, repairs maintenance, utilities, insurance etc.

if fair rental is being charged, I believe that since you are the owner you need to report the rental income. the family member needs to supply you with a list of expenses paid for you. which you then report on your return.

you are also required to take depreciation.

if this is not the first year consult a pro, you have a tax mess on your hands 

[JoeDown]

The rent is fair market.  The family member pays all expenses for the property from the rent income.  My only interest is that my name is on the deed and my sole reason is to prevent the "neighbor from hell" moving in next door. A bad renter can be evicted but hard to evict a bad property owner.

[TomD8]

I agree with @Mike9241.   Your family member is in effect managing the property and acting as your agent.  The obligation to report the rental income and expenses rests with you, the property owner, not with the manager.  In fact, a property manager is required to furnish a 1099 to the property owner if more than $600 in rent is collected in a tax year.  If you let the "manager" keep all the rent, you are in effect reimbursing him for his services.  How are you and he accounting for that?

As @Mike9241 stated, you have a "tax mess" on your hands and I agree that you need to consult with a legal/tax professional.

[Critter-3]

I agree ... you should talk to someone locally  about this mess you have. 

Technically you can rent a property you don't own and can keep the income and report the expenses you pay for on it  however since you don't own the property you cannot deduct the depreciation or the RE taxes or the mortgage interest so this is a big mess. 

You as the owner cannot "rent" to the family member for nothing and take the expenses on the Sch E  so you are both SOL.