Q: In Maryland, under contract to sell, do not want to give title company my social security number. what to do?
I understand that the sale must be reported to the irs. However filing instructions for the 1099s state several options of responsible parties to file it, this includes myself. What regulation/law requires it to be the title company? Also on that note while I understand the buyer has the right to choose the title company, where is the sellers right to protect their private financial data from companies they don't trust?
A: The title company needs this to establish your property tax account. Use of your SS# has become ubiquitous. There is no avoiding. What is your concern?
A: Federal law requires reporting to the IRS information on all real estate sales. There is no way around this and no matter which title company is handling a closing SSNs will need to be supplied.
A: The title company is required to report funds sent to you to the IRS based on your social security number. If you don't give them it, you cannot sell, and you will just have to pay the damages for breaching the contract to the buyer and the brokers. Then, you should ask them for their social security numbers so you can report your payments to them.
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