Are Credit Card Rewards Considered Taxable Income – Credit card incentives may amount to a considerable sum of money these days with cash-back rates reaching as high as 6%, particularly if you purchase a costly item.
Are Credit Card Rewards Considered Taxable Income?
You benefit as a consumer, but there is a lot of uncertainty for you as a taxpayer.
Sadly, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) doesn’t explicitly address the handling of credit card rewards too much. However, in general, the government will tax all income a person earns.
The primary determinant of whether incentives are taxed might depend on the kind of rewards you get and how you receive them.
The benefits may not always be considered income but rather a refund or reduction. An example would be to treat a rewards programme for using your credit card as if it were a post-purchase refund.
Large sign-up bonuses are offered by certain credit card incentive programmes, however, and the IRS may decide to classify these bonuses as taxable income.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Whether credit card rewards are taxable as income depends on how the rewards are received.
- If earned through the use of the card, like a cash-back bonus, the rewards are viewed by the IRS as a rebate and not taxable income.
- Rewards provided as an incentive just for opening an account (without you spending any money) could be considered taxable income.
- Taxes also generally come into play with rewards totaling over $600 annually, for which you’d receive a Form 1099-MISC.
- Rewards earned on a business credit card may affect the amount you can deduct from those business expenses.
If the purchase is being made for professional as opposed to personal reasons, the situation is somewhat different. If you use a business credit card, a good general rule of thumb is to remove any incentives from the total cost of the transaction to determine how much you may write off on your taxes.
The total effect does raise your tax burden even if it isn’t actually increasing your taxable income.
Types of Rewards That Are and Are Not Income
The kind of reward received often determines whether it is taxed.
Numerous credit card incentive schemes don’t ever need a monetary transaction. Common credit card incentives that are handled in this way include collected points for future purchases, travel miles, and automatically applied reward reductions to balances.
It is fair to assume that because no cash is received directly, these kinds of awards are not subject to taxation.
It’s possible that distinct new credit card sign-up incentives exist. Some of these benefits don’t need you to use your card to make any purchases or incur any charges.
These sign-up incentives may be taxed as additional unearned income if they are sent to you immediately in cash for just creating the account. They can’t be regarded as a refund since you didn’t use any of your own money to purchase them.
Where do cash-back reward schemes thus fit in? It differs. The income is often seen as a great rebate that comes with the perk of using the card if a cash-back incentive is instantly deposited to your credit card account.
It becomes a bit difficult, however, if you really get a cash-back check: Although it may also be seen as a kind of refund, it might potentially be considered income.
How Credit Card Rewards Are Taxed
Concerns about taxes being applied to your credit card rewards often start to surface after you get cash payments.
This situation happens first with certain cash back programmes and later with a sign-up bonus. A cash-back payment would typically be more akin to a rebate while a sign-up bonus payout would be more like winning the lottery.
How much money you really earn each year is another important aspect that determines whether credit card rewards are taxed.
The magical amount is $600. Taxes would only become an issue, as they do with income in general, with amounts higher than that.
It’s unlikely to happen. Many cash-back incentive schemes provide a maximum cash-back of 1% or 2%. To meet the $600 requirement using a 1% cash-back programme, you would need to spend $60,000 over the course of a year.
To meet the $600 requirement with a 2 percent cash-back programme, you would need to spend $30,000 over the course of a year.
1099-MISC and Credit Card Rewards
If the credit card company issues you a 1099-MISC, the taxability question is resolved for you. The IRS Form 1099-MISC Only after receiving $600 in taxable income distributions is Miscellaneous Income provided (with copies to you and the IRS).
As a result, you must record the payments as income and pay taxes if you get the 1099-MISC.
In conclusion, you should not disregard a 1099-MISC form that you get in the mail as part of a rewards programme. Even if you think your income shouldn’t be considered taxable, it’s still best to see a tax professional.
You do not want to risk incurring a tax fine because you forgot to properly report your credit card rewards when a 1099-MISC was issued since the IRS has grown more strict about monitoring revenue from these sources.
Real-World Example of Cash Rewards and Taxation
In November 2023, a concrete illustration of the potentially complex and taxable nature of credit card incentives surfaced. Due to a campaign that encouraged business owners to use AmEx’s fee-based wire service, claim the costs as a business expense, and then treat cash rewards accrued from the transaction on a personal credit card as tax-free, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice and Treasury Departments were looking into American Express.
The strategy, which ran from 2023 to 2023 and targeted small business owners and sole proprietors/professionals who shied away from accepting AmEx cards, ran like this: The company would use American Express’ wire service to pay vendors, suppliers, or even employees. It could then deduct the cost of using the service—fees of 1.77% to 3.5% per transaction—as a business expense on its tax return.
The company owner may also receive reward points for the wire transfers (much as for a credit card purchase), move the points to a personal AmEx Platinum Charles Schwab card, and convert the points to real cash at a rate of 1.25 cents per point, according to AmEx workers.
That final sentence has the potential to be disastrous. Unless you actually obtain the rewards points in the form of real money, as these small company owners were being urged to do, the IRS generally does not treat reward points from personal purchases as income but rather as a discount.
The fact that two separate organisations are involved—a firm made the points-earning transaction, but an individual cashed in the reward points—also clouds the issue, making the award seem more like unearned money than a refund.
Early in 2023, American Express stopped the practise. Later, after admitting that it had “failed to uphold… [its] values and had positioned certain products inappropriately, specifically with respect to tax benefits,” it hired attorneys to carry out its own investigation and took “actions to change products, policies, and personnel.” In April 2023, a few months later, it was revealed that the IRS had opened its own investigation into the situation.
The case of American Express should serve as a warning to be cautious when using card-related fees and perks for tax reasons. Additionally, it could force the IRS to make adjustments and ultimately provide more detailed information on the taxation of credit card incentives.
ADVISOR INSIGHT
Claremont, California’s Gould Asset Management
The answer is based on how the awards are accepted. The majority of rewards are obtained by using the card; for instance, one reward point is obtained for each dollar spent using a card. These benefits are regarded as rebates. Rewards given as a perk for creating an account, however, could be regarded as taxable income.
Do You Have to Claim Credit Card Rewards as Income?
This subject is not clearly covered by the IRS, allowing a lot of room for interpretation. The majority of tax experts agree that incentives received via credit card usage are non-taxable refunds, so as long as you spend money to get anything, you should be good.
According to this reasoning, you may only need to reveal anything when there is a real exchange of money, such in the case of a sign-up bonus.
Do You Get a 1099 for Credit Card Rewards?
You could have to pay taxes if the credit card issuer issues you a 1099-MISC. Do not assume the worst or draw hasty assumptions. Consult with a tax professional for guidance, then proceed.
Can You Pay Taxes with a Credit Card?
Yes, the IRS has approved three firms to handle credit card tax payments, and it is glad for customers to do so. Be warned, however, that there are costs associated with this service.
The Bottom Line
Almost every kind of income generation is covered by the IRS on its website. Credit card incentives are a significant exception that it does not explore in detail.
It is impossible to tell with certainty where the government stands on the tax treatment of credit card rewards since the government hasn’t released very much on the subject. In general, it may be said that credit card incentives obtained via card usage are rebates as opposed to taxable income.
However, if the benefits exceed $600 per year or when a sign-up bonus is given in cash to create an account, that distinction becomes hazy.
It is preferable to inquire if unsure. If you’re uncertain, go to a tax professional or think about contacting the IRS directly.
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