Quote:
Originally Posted by Blossom
If you make more than $600 in gift cards you are required to reported it but most don't. Places like Swagbucks do not send out a 1099-C but they are supposed to.
Sent from my XT1528
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I don't think there's any threshold or minimum, actually. The relevant tax code is
Internal Revenue Code Section 102. 102(c)(1)
Quote:
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Subsection (a) shall not exclude from gross income any amount transferred by or for an employer to, or for the benefit of, an employee.
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Exemptions are "
de minimis" (benefits are those that are “so small as to make accounting for [them] unreasonable or impractical.) Generally: occasional tickets for entertainment events; [certain] holiday gifts; flowers, fruit, books, etc., provided under special circumstances, etc.
section 123(e)
Cash and cash equivalent gifts/prizes (such as gift certificates) cannot be considered
de minimis or excluded from income because there is no difficulty in accounting for such prizes.
So I would say you would be required to claim ALL gift cards received from an employer as income. The only thing to be determined is if Swagbucks is your "employer" (quite possible), or if an author/publisher who gives you a free book in exchange for a review is your "employer" (not as likely in my opinion). And even if an author/publisher providing you with a "free book in exchange for an honest review"
could be considered ones employer, my interpretation of the tax code is that books would clearly fall under the
de minimis exemption and wouldn't need to be declared as income.