Free 2008 Instruction 1099-S - Federal

2008
Instructions for Form 1099-S
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service

Reminder
In addition to these specific instructions, you should also use the 2008 General Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G. Those general instructions include information about the following topics. · Backup withholding. · Electronic reporting requirements. · Penalties. · Who must file (nominee/middleman). · When and where to file. · Taxpayer identification numbers. · Statements to recipients. · Corrected and void returns. · Other general topics. You can get the general instructions from the IRS website at www.irs.gov or by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676).

99 years and a remaining term of 35 years on the closing date is an ownership interest; however, if the remaining term is 10 years, it is not an ownership interest. An ownership interest does not include any option to acquire real estate. Involuntary conversion. A sale of real estate under threat or imminence of seizure, requisition, or condemnation is generally a reportable transaction. Timber royalties. Report on Form 1099-S payments of timber royalties made under a pay-as-cut contract, reportable under section 6050N. For more information, see Announcement 90-129, 1990-48 I.R.B. 10.

Exceptions
The following is a list of transactions that are not reportable; however, you may choose to report them. If you do, you are subject to the rules in these instructions. 1. Sale or exchange of a principal residence (including stock in a cooperative housing corporation) for $250,000 or less ($500,000 or less for married filing a joint return) and you received an acceptable written assurance (certification) from the seller. The certification must include information to support the conclusion that the full gain on the sale is excludable from the seller's gross income. If there are joint sellers, you must obtain a certification from each seller (whether married or not) or file Form 1099-S for any seller who does not make the certification. The certification must be signed by each seller under penalties of perjury. A sample certification format can be found in Revenue Procedure 2007-12 on page 354 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2007-4 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb07-04.pdf. You may get the certification any time on or before January 31 of the year after the year of sale. You may rely on the certification and not file or furnish Form 1099-S unless you know that any assurance on the certification is incorrect. You must retain the certification for 4 years after the year of sale. You may retain the certification on paper, microfilm, microfiche, or in an electronic storage system. You are not required to obtain the certification. However, if you do not obtain it, you must file and furnish Form 1099-S. 2. Any transaction in which the transferor is a corporation (or is considered to be a corporation under Regulations section 1.6045-4(d)(2)); a governmental unit, including a foreign government or an international organization; or an exempt volume transferor. Under this rule, if there are exempt and nonexempt transferors, you must file Form 1099-S only for the nonexempt transferors. An exempt volume transferor is someone who sold or exchanged during the year, who expects to sell or exchange during the year, or who sold or exchanged in either of the 2 previous years, at least 25 separate items of reportable real estate to at least 25 separate transferees. In addition, each item of reportable real estate must have been held, at the date of closing, or will be held, primarily for sale or resale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business. You are not required to report an exempt volume transferor's transactions if you receive the penalties of perjury certification required by Regulations section 1.6045-4(d)(3).

Specific Instructions for Form 1099-S
File Form 1099-S, Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions, to report the sale or exchange of real estate.

Reportable Real Estate
Generally, you are required to report a transaction that consists in whole or in part of the sale or exchange for money, indebtedness, property, or services of any present or future ownership interest in any of the following: 1. Improved or unimproved land, including air space; 2. Inherently permanent structures, including any residential, commercial, or industrial building; 3. A condominium unit and its appurtenant fixtures and common elements, including land; and 4. Stock in a cooperative housing corporation (as defined in section 216). Sale or exchange. A sale or exchange includes any transaction properly treated as a sale or exchange for federal income tax purposes, even if the transaction is not currently taxable. For example, a sale of a principal residence may be a reportable sale even though the transferor may be entitled to exclude the gain under section 121. But see Exceptions on this page. Also, a transfer to a corporation that qualifies for nonrecognition of gain under section 351 is a reportable exchange. In addition, a transfer under a land contract is reportable in the year in which the parties enter into the contract. Ownership interest. An ownership interest includes fee simple interests, life estates, reversions, remainders, and perpetual easements. It also includes any previously created rights to possession or use for all or part of any particular year (for example, a leasehold, easement, or timeshare), if such rights have a remaining term of at least 30 years, including any period for which the holder may renew such rights, determined on the date of closing. For example, a preexisting leasehold on a building with an original term of

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3. Any transaction that is not a sale or exchange, including a bequest, a gift (including a transaction treated as a gift under section 1041), and a financing or refinancing that is not related to the acquisition of real estate. 4. A transfer in full or partial satisfaction of a debt secured by the property. This includes a foreclosure, a transfer in lieu of foreclosure, or an abandonment. 5. A de minimus transfer for less than $600. A transaction is de minimus if it can be determined with certainty that the total money, services, and property received or to be received is less than $600, as measured on the closing date. For example, if a contract for sale provides for total consideration of "$1.00 plus other valuable consideration," the transfer is not a de minimus transfer unless you can determine that the "other valuable consideration" is less than $599, as measured on the closing date. The $600 rule applies to the transaction as a whole, not separately to each transferor. The following are also not reportable if the transaction is not related to the sale or exchange of reportable real estate. · An interest in crops or surface or subsurface natural resources, that is, timber (however, see Timber royalties on page 1), water, ores, and other natural deposits, whether or not such crops or natural resources are severed from the land. · A burial plot or vault. · A manufactured structure used as a dwelling that is manufactured and assembled at a location different from that where it is used, but only if such structure is not affixed, on the closing date, to a foundation. This exception applies to an unaffixed mobile home.

Who Must File
Generally, the person responsible for closing the transaction, as explained in 1 below, is required to file Form 1099-S. If no one is responsible for closing, the person required to file Form 1099-S is explained in 2 below. However, you may designate the person required to file Form 1099-S in a written agreement, as explained under 3 below. 1. If you are the person responsible for closing the transaction, you must file Form 1099-S. If a Uniform Settlement Statement, prescribed under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA), is used, the person responsible for closing is the person listed as the settlement agent on that statement. A Uniform Settlement Statement includes any amendments, variations, or substitutions that may be prescribed under RESPA if any such form requires disclosure of the transferor and transferee, the application of the proceeds, and the name of the settlement agent or other person responsible for preparing the settlement statement. If a Uniform Settlement Statement is not used, or no settlement agent is listed, the person responsible for closing is the person who prepares the closing statement, including a settlement statement or other written document that identifies the transferor, transferee, and real estate transferred, and that describes how the proceeds are to be disbursed. If no closing statement is used, or if two or more statements are used, the person responsible for closing is, in the following order: a. The transferee's attorney if the attorney is present at the delivery of either the transferee's note or a significant part of the cash proceeds to the transferor or if the attorney prepares or reviews the preparation of the documents transferring legal or equitable ownership; b. The transferor's attorney if the attorney is present at the delivery of either the transferee's note or a significant

part of the cash proceeds to the transferor or if the attorney prepares or reviews the preparation of the documents transferring legal or equitable ownership; or c. The disbursing title or escrow company that is most significant in disbursing gross proceeds. If there is more than one attorney described in (a) or (b), the one whose involvement is most significant is the person responsible for filing. 2. If no one is responsible for closing the transaction as explained in 1 above, the person responsible for filing is, in the following order: (a) the mortgage lender, (b) the transferor's broker, (c) the transferee's broker, or (d) the transferee. For purposes of 2 above, apply the following definitions. a. Mortgage lender means a person who lends new funds in connection with the transaction, but only if the loan is at least partially secured by the real estate. If there is more than one lender, the one who lends the most new funds is the mortgage lender. If several lenders advance equal amounts of new funds, and no other person advances a greater amount of new funds, the mortgage lender is the one who has the security interest that is most senior in priority. Amounts advanced by the transferor are not treated as new funds. b. Transferor's broker means the broker who contracts with the transferor and who is compensated for the transaction. c. Transferee's broker means the broker who significantly participates in the preparation of the offer to acquire the property or who presents such offer to the transferor. If there is more than one such person, the transferee's broker is the one who most significantly participates in the preparation of the acquisition offer. If there is no such person, the one who most significantly participates in the presentation of the offer is the transferee's broker. d. Transferee means the person who acquires the greatest interest in the property. If no one acquires the greatest interest, the transferee is the person listed first on the ownership transfer documents. 3. Designation agreement. You can enter into a written agreement at or before closing to designate who must file Form 1099-S for the transaction. The agreement will identify the person responsible for filing if such designated person signs the agreement. It is not necessary that all parties to the transaction (or that more than one party) enter into the agreement. You may be designated in the agreement as the person who must file if you are the person responsible for closing (as explained in 1 above), the transferee's or transferor's attorney (as explained in 1 above), a title or escrow company that is most significant in terms of the gross proceeds disbursed, or the mortgage lender (as explained in 2a above). The designation agreement may be in any written form and may be included on the closing statement. It must: a. Identify by name and address the person designated as responsible for filing, b. Include the names and addresses of each person entering into the agreement, c. Be signed and dated by all persons entering into the agreement, d. Include the names and addresses of the transferor and transferee, and e. Include the address and any other information necessary to identify the property. Each person who signs the agreement must retain it for 4 years.

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For each transaction, be sure that only one person is TIP responsible for filing and that only one Form 1099-S is filed for each transferor.

Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs)
You must request the transferor's TIN no later than the time of closing. The TIN request need not be made in a separate mailing. Rather, it may be made in person, in a mailing that includes other items, or electronically. The transferor is required to furnish his or her TIN and to certify that the TIN is correct. For U.S. persons (including U.S. resident aliens), you may request a TIN on Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification. Foreign persons must provide their TIN to you on the appropriate Form W-8. See part J in the 2008 General Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G. Alternatively, you may provide a written statement to the transferor similar to the following: "You are required by law to provide (insert name of person responsible for filing) with your correct taxpayer identification number. If you do not provide (insert name of person responsible for filing) with your correct taxpayer identification number, you may be subject to civil or criminal penalties imposed by law." The solicitation must contain space for the name, address, and TIN of the transferor, and a place to certify under penalties of perjury that the TIN furnished is the correct TIN of the transferor. The certification must read similar to: "Under penalties of perjury, I certify that I am a U.S. person or U.S. resident alien and the number shown on this statement is my correct taxpayer identification number." If you use a Uniform Settlement Statement (under RESPA), you may provide a copy of such statement, appropriately modified to solicit the TIN, to the transferor. Keep the Form W-9 or substitute form in your records for 4 years.

Employees, Agents, and Partners
If an employee, agent, or partner, acting within the scope of such person's employment, agency, or partnership, participates in a real estate transaction, only the employer, principal, or partnership (not the employee, agent, or partner) may be the reporting person. However, the participation of a person listed on the Uniform Settlement Statement as the settlement agent acting as an agent of another is not attributed to the principal.

Foreign Transferors
Sales or exchanges involving foreign transferors are reportable on Form 1099-S. For information on the transferee's responsibility to withhold income tax when a U.S. real property interest is acquired from a foreign person, see Pub. 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities.

Multiple Transferors
For multiple transferors of the same real estate, you must file a separate Form 1099-S for each transferor. At or before closing, you must request from the transferors an allocation of the gross proceeds among the transferors. The request and the response are not required to be in writing. You must make a reasonable effort to contact all transferors of whom you have knowledge. However, you may rely on the unchallenged response of any transferor, and you need not make additional contacts with other transferors after at least one complete allocation is received (100% of gross proceeds, whether or not received in a single response). If you receive the allocation, report gross proceeds on each Form 1099-S accordingly. You are not required to, but you may, report gross proceeds in accordance with an allocation received after the closing date but before the due date of Form 1099-S (without extensions). However, you cannot report gross proceeds in accordance with an allocation received on or after the due date of Form 1099-S (without extensions). If no gross proceeds are allocated to a transferor because no allocation or an incomplete allocation is received, you must report the total unallocated gross proceeds on the Form 1099-S made for that transferor. If you do not receive any allocation or you receive conflicting allocations, report on each transferor's Form 1099-S the total unallocated gross proceeds. Husband and wife. If the transferors were husband and wife at the time of closing, who held the property as joint tenants, tenants by the entirety, tenants in common, or as community property, treat them as a single transferor. Only one Form 1099-S showing either of them as the transferor is required. You need not request an allocation of gross proceeds if husband and wife are the only transferors. But if you receive an uncontested allocation of gross proceeds from them, file Form 1099-S for each spouse according to the allocation. If there are other transferors, you must make a reasonable effort to contact either the husband or wife to request an allocation. Partnerships. If the property is transferred by a partnership, file only one Form 1099-S for the partnership, not separate Forms 1099-S for each partner.

Separate Charge Prohibited
You may not charge your customers a separate fee for complying with the Form 1099-S filing requirements. However, you may take into account the cost of filing the form in setting the fees you charge your customers for services in a real estate transaction.

Statements to Transferors
If you are required to file Form 1099-S, you must provide a statement to the transferor. Furnish a copy of Form 1099-S or an acceptable substitute statement to each transferor. For more information about the requirement to furnish a statement to the transferor, see part M in the 2008 General Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G. You are not required to indicate on Form 1099-S that TIP the transferor's (seller's) financing was federally subsidized. Also, you are not required to enter the following: · Both total gross proceeds and the allocated gross proceeds for a multiple transferor transaction (enter either one or the other); · An indication that the transferor may receive property or services for an obligation having a stated principal amount; or · An indication that, in connection with a contingent payment transaction, the transferor may receive gross proceeds that cannot be determined with certainty under the regulations and is not included in gross proceeds.

Filer's Name and Address Box
Enter the name, address, and telephone number of the person who is filing Form 1099-S. This information must be the same as the filer information reported on Form 1096.

Multiple Assets Sold
If real estate is sold or exchanged and other assets are sold or exchanged in the same transaction, report the total gross proceeds from the entire transaction on Form 1099-S.

Transferor's Name and Address Box
Enter the name and address of the seller or other transferor of the real estate. If a husband and wife are joint sellers, it is

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only necessary to enter one name and the TIN for that person on the form.

Account Number
The account number is required if you have multiple accounts for a recipient for whom you are filing more than one Form 1099-S. Additionally, the IRS encourages you to designate an account number for all Forms 1099-S that you file. See part L in the 2008 General Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G.

Box 1. Date of Closing
Enter the closing date. On a Uniform Settlement Statement (under RESPA), the closing date is the settlement date. If a Uniform Settlement Statement is not used, the closing date is the earlier of the date title transfers or the date the economic burdens and benefits of ownership shift to the transferee.

statement. If other property or services were exchanged, see Box 4. Check Here if the Transferor Received or Will Receive Property or Services as Part of the Consideration below. Contingent payment transaction. A contingent payment transaction is one in which the receipt, by or on behalf of the transferor, is subject to a contingency. The maximum determinable proceeds means the greatest amount of gross proceeds possible if all the contingencies are satisfied. If the maximum amount of gross proceeds cannot be determined with certainty, the maximum determinable proceeds are the greatest amount that can be determined with certainty.

Box 3. Address or Legal Description (Including City, State, and ZIP Code)
Enter the address of the property, including the city, state, and ZIP code. If the address does not sufficiently identify the property, also enter a legal description, such as section, lot, and block. For timber royalties, enter "Timber."

Box 2. Gross Proceeds
Enter the gross proceeds from the sale or exchange of real estate. Gross proceeds means any cash received or to be received for the real property by or on behalf of the transferor, including the stated principal amount of a note payable to or for the benefit of the transferor and including a note or mortgage paid off at settlement. If the transferee assumes a liability of the transferor or takes the property subject to a liability, such liability is treated as cash and is includible as part of gross proceeds. For a contingent payment transaction, include the maximum determinable proceeds. Also see Multiple Assets Sold earlier on page 3. If you are reporting a like-kind exchange of property for which no gross proceeds are reportable, enter 0 (zero) in box 2 and enter an "X" in the checkbox in box 4. Gross proceeds do not include the value of property or services received or to be received by, or on behalf of, the transferor or separately stated cash received for personal property, such as draperies, rugs, or a washer and dryer. Do not reduce gross proceeds by any expenses paid by the transferor, such as sales commissions, deed preparation, advertising, and legal expenses. If a Uniform Settlement Statement (under RESPA) is used for a transfer of real estate for cash and notes only, gross proceeds generally will be the contract sales price shown on that

Box 4. Check Here if the Transferor Received or Will Receive Property or Services as Part of the Consideration
If the transferor received or will receive property (other than cash and consideration treated as cash in computing gross proceeds) or services as part of the consideration for the property, enter an "X" in the checkbox in box 4.

Box 5. Buyer's Part of Real Estate Tax
For a real estate transaction involving a residence, enter the real estate tax paid in advance that is allocable to the buyer. You do not have to report an amount as allocable to the buyer for real estate taxes paid in arrears. You may use the appropriate information included on the HUD-1, or comparable form, provided at closing. For example, a residence is sold in a county where the real estate tax is paid annually in advance. The seller paid real estate taxes of $1,200 for the year in which the sale took place. The sale occurred at the end of the 9th month of the real estate tax year. Therefore, $300 of the tax paid in advance is allocated to the buyer, by reference to the amount of real estate tax shown on the HUD-1 as paid by the seller in advance, and is reported in box 5. See Notice 93-4, 1993-1 C.B. 295.

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