Tenants owing a lot of rent and Forgiveness of Debt

[David Eisen]

Has anyone use forgiveness of debt if a tenant leaves/evicted owing back rent money? A quick google search... 

If a creditor discharged a debt of $600 or more, you should receive a Form 1099-C from the IRS showing the amount of debt forgiven for that tax year. In most cases, this is the amount you'll need to include in your gross income – the sum of your earnings before taxes – when filing your tax return.

You'll never collect back rent once they are out, but this may be an alternative for going after "professional tenants" who are out to scam landlords.

Just curious if anyone has used this method.
  

[Steve Vaughan]

Originally posted by @David Eisen:

Has anyone use forgiveness of debt if a tenant leaves/evicted owing back rent money? A quick google search... 

If a creditor discharged a debt of $600 or more, you should receive a Form 1099-C from the IRS showing the amount of debt forgiven for that tax year. In most cases, this is the amount you'll need to include in your gross income – the sum of your earnings before taxes – when filing your tax return.

You'll never collect back rent once they are out, but this may be an alternative for going after "professional tenants" who are out to scam landlords.

Just curious if anyone has used this method.
  

I've considered this before and it didn't work.  It's just income you didn't receive, not debt.

If you lent them money it would be different, but it's good to think creatively👍