Eric Adams’ taxes show rental income in reversal from past billings

Tax forms released by Mayor Eric Adams on Friday show he is reporting taxable income on the four-unit tenement in Brooklyn he has declared as his residence. with the rent he collects.

The form shows Adams reporting $3,429 in taxable rental income for 2021 after deductions. It was the year he ran for mayor, and questions arose about where he lived.

For years, Adams avoided paying taxes on the rental income he earned from his Lafayette Avenue property. He said he lived in a ground floor unit and claimed he had enough money to take the tax burden to zero.

Records show that these costs appear to include repairs to his own apartment and are not deductible. Landlords cannot deduct repair costs for their personal units.

For several years, Adams did not elaborate on income or deductions for his Brooklyn rental property, only after asking questions from PoliticoNY and THE CITY. He then had to submit a more detailed form going back several years.

In amended forms he filed in 2017, 2018 and 2019, he claimed zero “personal use” days on the property. allow him Deduct the cost of repairs for the entire building and make the rental income zero.

During his campaign for mayor last year, Adams said he had lived in the property’s ground-floor unit since 2017 and showed the media his apartment. When asked by THE CITY about Adams claiming zero personal use days on his IRS form, campaign spokesperson Evan Thies said: said At the time, “it was a mistake. He lived there and I should have let them know I lived there.”

Thies promised the mayor would file an amended form, but when it released the 2021 Form 1040 on Friday, Adams did not release an amendment to the previous form.

The form released on Friday lists total taxable income for 2021 at $231,977. Adams no longer claims zero personal use days. As a result, he had to report his meager rental income as taxable: $3,429.

The form also shows that Adams has significantly reduced the rent he collects and has significantly reduced his spending on repairs and supplies to fix the property.

From 2017 to 2019, Adams reported collecting $36,000 in pre-deductible rental income each year and spending $6,000 to $8,000 on repairs and supplies.

On his 2021 form, Adams reported pocketing $24,600 in pre-deductible rental income.

Adams claims the deduction he’s taking only applies to the three rental units, not the basement unit.

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Adams has faced challenges over the past few years with the accuracy of his tax returns. City When Politico NY During the 2021 mayoral election.

In the first case, Adams did not report rental income from a four-unit Bedford-Stuyvesant home, even though he reported the income on the required city financial disclosure form.

His campaign said at the time that no income was reported to offset expenses, but later amended his tax returns for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 tax years.

When these revised tax documents were published, THE CITY Identified NEW ISSUES — The filing states that Adams spent “zero” days at the Bedford-Stuyvesant home, and could have deducted more expenses than otherwise would have been allowed. .

Two tax accountants with whom THE CITY shared submissions Questions raised For the many expenses used to offset the approximately $100,000 in rental income that Adams reportedly received over three years.

In mid-April of this year, around the time the former mayor filed his tax returns or gave reporters a brief review, Adams made conflicting public statements about whether he intended to share his papers. Announced.

Ultimately, a spokesperson for his city hall said Adams received a petition extension, which would provide access to his documents later this year.

Then, in June, another financial disagreement resurfaced on Adams’ record.

During his 2021 mayoral election, Adams claimed to have gifted a friend a 50% stake in the Prospect Heights cooperative in 2007.

However, reports by THE CITY indicate that Adams actually not relinquish ownershipand if he had, he would have had to pay a “gift tax” to the IRS on the value of the alleged title transfer. could not prove that such taxes have been paid;

It was the only year Adams was ordered to disclose certain aspects of his finances as mayor. he disclosed his ownership Unit percentages continued unabated through at least the end of 2021. At the same time, he amended a five-year public disclosure he filed as Brooklyn borough mayor regarding joint ownership of the apartment.

Adams blamed his friend for not finalizing the transfer of ownership in 2007, and said he learned about the matter only after hiring a new accountant.

As THE CITY reported, his former accountant, Clarence Harley, Spotty track record including being accused of Documents to submit to the court embezzled tens of thousands of dollars from the Harlem cooperative that employed him.

Adams stood by Harley for a while — at one point, an accountant said he was homeless — but reversed course after financial errors started piling up.

he condemned Hurley acknowledged the IRS’ “Zero” days error, and his spokesperson later suggested that it was the accountant’s fault that Adams did not know that he still co-owned Prospect Heights Co-operative. did.

Adams also co-owns a condominium in Fort Lee, New Jersey, with longtime partner Tracy Collins, and as of January lives in the Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Hurley did not respond to voice messages left for comment.