If you own rental homes the federal government has made your world a bit more complicated in 2011. Buried in the Small Business Lending Fund Act that passed in 2010 there was a new provision for rental home owners. Now every time you work with a contractor that charges you over $600 you will have to send them a 1099.

So you think you will ignore giving Washington more information on your business? Think again, if you are caught not sending 1099’s to your contractors you could face fines up to $250,000 for failing to get the required information.

Our advice is to get the 1099 form filled out by every vendor you work with for your rental properties. The cost of non compliance is too high, and as a group you are being targeted by the Federal bureaucracy.

And maybe you heard on the radio or TV that the government is going to repeal onerous reporting requirements for small businesses? You are right on that one, but as a rental property owner, you are not included in that group. Your new tax reporting requirement was buried in a different bill.