united-states rent
Is a tenant legally required to report the rent payments in cash to the IRS?
<p>I've been renting a room in a house in California, USA for a few years. Each month, I pay an advance payment to the homeowner. The rent is currently $650/month, and he wants cash. Legally speaking, am I required to report those cash payments to the IRS? And, does the IRS have a webpage that has instructions  or regulations regarding these cash transactions?</p>

<p>In general, a person who pays for goods and services with cash is not obligated to report the payments to the IRS (thus simplifying your trip to the hardware store, purchases from a vending machine, etc.). There are laws requiring reporting of <em>receipt</em> of cash <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/5313" rel="nofollow noreferrer">31 USC 5313</a> which applies to banks, which are regulated, but Ordinary Joe is not subject to this law. Receipt of over $10,000 in one or more related transactions, in the course of business, must be reported under <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6050I" rel="nofollow noreferrer">26 USC 6050I</a>. The IRS also says &quot;File Form <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1099-misc" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MISC-1099</a> for each person to whom you have paid during the year&quot; if you pay at least $600 in rents, prizes awards, &quot;other income payments&quot;, medical and health care payments and so on. Later, they <a href="https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099msc" rel="nofollow noreferrer">list exceptions</a> including payments for merchandise, telegrams, telephone, freight, storage, and similar items; payments of rent to real estate agents or property managers. The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099msc.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">instruction book</a> then says, even more specifically,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Report on Form 1099-MISC only when payments are made in the course of
your trade or business. Personal payments are not reportable.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And then they repeat the exception for merchandise: but you're not paying to a real estate agent or a property manager, so <em>that</em> exception is not relevant (but the fact that the payer reports only in case it is a business covers your situation).</p>
