Taxpayer asks:
Hi tax girl!
Greetings and thank you in advance for your time:
I too live in Philadelphia, and looking to rent another house… My credit rating is 798 and I have over $X in an investment account. I have started a new company and had practically no income last year… I am an independent contractor (computer consultant). The landlord wants a W9 form, and this concerns me …is this to see how much income I have from the year? I’m not clear and don’t want to embarrass myself by supplying my social security number on the form… I have all the proper references… just quite concerned about this W9 form. Could you help me out with some information… so very much appreciated.
Taxgirl says:
First things first. The IRS is not allowed to give out information about your taxable income or tax history without your specific authorization. This is usually accomplished using a form 2848, Power of Attorney. A form 2848 is very specific – it’s limited to the years that you authorize and to certain tax forms or schedules. So, for example, you could authorize your attorney to be able to speak to the IRS about your form 1040 for the year 2007. But that’s it. There’s no such thing as a blanket Power of Attorney form for the IRS.
The potential pool of representatives authorized to act under a form 2848, Power of Attorney, is also fairly narrow. The IRS will allow you to nominate an attorney (student or otherwise), CPA (student or otherwise), enrolled agent, family member, corporate officer, full time employee, enrolled actuary, unenrolled tax preparer or enrolled retirement plan agent. That’s it. There’s no designation for landlord or employer or any other such designation. That’s because your tax returns are none of their business. Tax returns are private matters between you and the government. The ability for a third party to gain access to your tax information is fairly limited without your specific consent.
I say all of that to say that giving out your Social Security number – even on a tax-related form like a form W-9 – is not enough to authorize anyone to see your tax information. So assuming you actually complete the form W-9, your potential landlord won’t be able to tell a thing about your taxable income with that information.
I am a bit puzzled, however, why your landlord would ask you to complete a form W-9. The basic purpose of the form is to allow the recipient to verify your Social Security number (as well as backup withholding information) in order to report certain information to the IRS. The most common example is the preparation of a form 1099. If you’re personally paying rent, there should be no need for a form 1099 (if this is for your company, then it’s a different matter).
If the form W-9 is for a legitimate purpose, like the reporting of interest paid to you for your security deposit, then I wouldn’t worry about your tax information being shared (it won’t). If it’s for some other reason – like the landlord’s lazy way of getting you to agree to a credit check – then you might ask if there’s an alternative available. While the landlord can’t use a form W-9 to peek at your tax info, if he doesn’t need you to sign the form, you shouldn’t have to.
Good luck!
Like any good lawyer, I need to add a disclaimer: Unfortunately, it is impossible to give comprehensive tax advice over the internet, no matter how well researched or written. Before relying on any information given on this site, contact a tax professional to discuss your particular situation.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
If they wanted history of income for her, they’d probably ask for 4506T
I am a CPA and a landlord and can explain the Form W-9. Most state law requires landlords to deposit security deposits into individual designated security deposit bank accounts. The acccount bears the SSN of the tenant and not the landlord. No bank will allow you to open a new statement savings account with a Form W-9. It is used to open the bank account not to verify income. If the tenant asked the landlord why the FormW-9 was necessary the landlord would have explained it. Its not secret. If you dont think this is correct call your local banker and they will tell you the same.
Please note a typo in my last response. It should read ‘without a Form w-9′ not with
Thanks Bernard. I suspected as much which is why I referenced the security deposit in my answer. I am, however, all about transparency and I think that a good landlord would explain this ahead of time. The fact that the taxpayer is concerned about income verification makes me think that the discussions weren’t as open as they could have been.
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