5 ms·

I never had a corporate CC, so I'm curious: do those rewards count as personal income for tax purposes?

jblake 7y ago
Usually I'll let the points sit and use them when I have to travel - so the points never touch my bank accounts. I'm not a tax expert, but for that reason I don't bother reporting any income on it
- sdinsn 7y ago
  If you use it for personal travel, I'm pretty sure it counts as income.
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    It does not in the US: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-02-18.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-02-18.pdf
    - sdinsn 7y ago
      I stand corrected, thanks
yandie 7y ago
No. CC points are not taxable if earned via spending - they're like rebates for spending so they are not taxed. For the same kind of points (Chase Ultimate, for example), you are taxed if earned via: * Referrals * Opening an account (i.e. Chase checking account) * Other non-spending activities
- dantillberg 7y ago
  But if the business spends $100 and the rebate is $2, but I personally pocket the rebate instead of giving the money back to the business, wouldn't that $2 become taxable personal income? (and perhaps also theft, depending on my relationship to the business?)
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-02-18.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-02-18.pdf Seems like only cash rewards are taxable, but even then, it doesn't see like the IRS would be interested in pursuing it.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - DataGata 7y ago
      If you run a small business and have a SB card, spending just $100k can get you more than $1k in rewards a year. $1k is still probably not worth the IRS tracking down, but getting on the IRS being too busy to tackle your tax fraud is still tax fraud.
koolba 7y ago
Credit card rewards do not get a 1099 as they’re a rebate/discount on spent monies. Banking sign up bonuses usually do as they’re classified as interest.
- icebraining 7y ago
  Yeah, but the company spent the monies, and the employee got the rebate. Seems like an employment benefit to me.
  - likpok 7y ago
    Travel status/miles are sort of similar. It’s a basic racket: the airline rewards you for steering your company’s money to them. It seems to be broadly acceptable but I agree looks pretty sketchy when you boil it down to the basics.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

Usually I'll let the points sit and use them when I have to travel - so the points never touch my bank accounts. I'm not a tax expert, but for that reason I don't bother reporting any income on it

sdinsn 7y ago
If you use it for personal travel, I'm pretty sure it counts as income.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  It does not in the US: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-02-18.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-02-18.pdf
  - sdinsn 7y ago
    I stand corrected, thanks

yandie 7y ago

No. CC points are not taxable if earned via spending - they're like rebates for spending so they are not taxed. For the same kind of points (Chase Ultimate, for example), you are taxed if earned via: * Referrals * Opening an account (i.e. Chase checking account) * Other non-spending activities

dantillberg 7y ago
But if the business spends $100 and the rebate is $2, but I personally pocket the rebate instead of giving the money back to the business, wouldn't that $2 become taxable personal income? (and perhaps also theft, depending on my relationship to the business?)
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-02-18.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-02-18.pdf Seems like only cash rewards are taxable, but even then, it doesn't see like the IRS would be interested in pursuing it.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - DataGata 7y ago
    If you run a small business and have a SB card, spending just $100k can get you more than $1k in rewards a year. $1k is still probably not worth the IRS tracking down, but getting on the IRS being too busy to tackle your tax fraud is still tax fraud.

koolba 7y ago

Credit card rewards do not get a 1099 as they’re a rebate/discount on spent monies. Banking sign up bonuses usually do as they’re classified as interest.

icebraining 7y ago
Yeah, but the company spent the monies, and the employee got the rebate. Seems like an employment benefit to me.
- likpok 7y ago
  Travel status/miles are sort of similar. It’s a basic racket: the airline rewards you for steering your company’s money to them. It seems to be broadly acceptable but I agree looks pretty sketchy when you boil it down to the basics.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]