Duplex Investors Required To 1099 Starbucks

coffee cupsHidden in the text of last year’s health care bill was a small section that had nothing to do with health care and everything to do with owning duplexes.

Starting in 2012, investment property and other small business owners will be required to 1099 for all payments made to vendors they spend more than $600 a year with.

That isn’t limited to those who perform services like property maintenance.

In fact, it includes major corporations like Home Depot,Lowes, Starbucks

OK, if you’re spending more than $600 a year at Starbucks and writing it off as a business expense, you might raise other issues with the IRS. But let’s say it’s legitimate.

Guess what? Starbucks stores are franchises. So you’ll have to 1099 the owner of each store you visited.

I don’t know which thought is more entertaining; having to keep track of that or calling Home Depot and asking them to share their tax ID number.

There’s one way to solve some of this. If you use a business credit card to pay for your purchases, the credit card company will issue the 1099 on your behalf.

I wonder how much lobbying MasterCard and Visa did to get this passed.