Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (2024)

Table of Contents

  • Are credit card rewards taxable?
  • When your credit card rewards are not taxable
  • When your credit card rewards are taxable
  • Do card issuers send 1099s for taxable rewards?
  • How do I know if I owe taxes on credit card rewards?
  • The bottom line

Money Credit Cards

Article updated on Mar 29, 2024

If you must spend money to earn the reward, the IRS typically considers it a discount, not income. But watch out for exceptions.

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Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (1)Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (2)

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (3)Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (4)

Written by

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (5)

Liliana Hall

Associate Writer

Liliana Hall is a writer for CNET Money covering banking, credit cards and mortgages. Previously, she wrote about personal credit for Bankrate and CreditCards.com. She is passionate about providing accessible content to enhance financial literacy. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in journalism, and has worked in the newsrooms of KUT and the Austin Chronicle. When not working, she is probably paddle boarding, hopping on a flight or reading for her book club.

See full bio ,

Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a senior editor for CNET Money with a focus on credit cards. Previously, she covered personal finance topics as a writer and editor at The Penny Hoarder. She is passionate about helping people make the best money decisions for themselves and their families. She graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and has been a writer and editor for publications including the New York Post, Women's Running magazine and Soap Opera Digest. When she isn't working, you can find her enjoying life in St. Petersburg, Florida, with her husband, daughter and a very needy dog.

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,

Elizabeth Rivelli

Elizabeth is a contributor to CNET and the The Simple Dollar, where she reviews insurance providers and policies. She has more than three years of experience writing for top online insurance and finance publications including Bankrate, Coverage.com and Reviews.com.

See full bio

Edited by

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (7)

Courtney Johnston

Senior Editor

Courtney Johnston is a senior editor leading the CNET Money team. Passionate about financial literacy and inclusion, she has a decade of experience as a freelance journalist covering policy, financial news, real estate and investing. A New Jersey native, she graduated with an M.A. in English Literature and Professional Writing from the University of Indianapolis, where she also worked as a graduate writing instructor.

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Reviewed by

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (8)

Lanesha Mohip

Corporate accountant and founder of Polished CFO

Lanesha D. Mohip, MBA, MHRM is the founder of Polished CFO. She’s also a corporate accountant who helps grow women-owned brands and businesses by improving their financial processes. Mohip believes that supporting women CEOs through education empowers them to make confident money decisions. She also hosts the Polished CFO podcast and was featured in Yahoo! Finance.

See full bio

CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review the products and services we cover. If you buy through our links, we may get paid.

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Our Experts

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (9)Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (10)

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (11)Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (12)

Written by

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (13)

Liliana Hall

Associate Writer

Liliana Hall is a writer for CNET Money covering banking, credit cards and mortgages. Previously, she wrote about personal credit for Bankrate and CreditCards.com. She is passionate about providing accessible content to enhance financial literacy. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in journalism, and has worked in the newsrooms of KUT and the Austin Chronicle. When not working, she is probably paddle boarding, hopping on a flight or reading for her book club.

See full bio ,

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (14)

Tiffany Connors

Editor

Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a senior editor for CNET Money with a focus on credit cards. Previously, she covered personal finance topics as a writer and editor at The Penny Hoarder. She is passionate about helping people make the best money decisions for themselves and their families. She graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and has been a writer and editor for publications including the New York Post, Women's Running magazine and Soap Opera Digest. When she isn't working, you can find her enjoying life in St. Petersburg, Florida, with her husband, daughter and a very needy dog.

See full bio
,

Elizabeth Rivelli

Elizabeth is a contributor to CNET and the The Simple Dollar, where she reviews insurance providers and policies. She has more than three years of experience writing for top online insurance and finance publications including Bankrate, Coverage.com and Reviews.com.

See full bio

Edited by

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (15)

Courtney Johnston

Senior Editor

Courtney Johnston is a senior editor leading the CNET Money team. Passionate about financial literacy and inclusion, she has a decade of experience as a freelance journalist covering policy, financial news, real estate and investing. A New Jersey native, she graduated with an M.A. in English Literature and Professional Writing from the University of Indianapolis, where she also worked as a graduate writing instructor.

See full bio

Reviewed by

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (16)

Lanesha Mohip

Corporate accountant and founder of Polished CFO

Lanesha D. Mohip, MBA, MHRM is the founder of Polished CFO. She’s also a corporate accountant who helps grow women-owned brands and businesses by improving their financial processes. Mohip believes that supporting women CEOs through education empowers them to make confident money decisions. She also hosts the Polished CFO podcast and was featured in Yahoo! Finance.

See full bio

CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review the products and services we cover. If you buy through our links, we may get paid.

Reviews ethics statement

Why You Can Trust CNET Money

Table of Contents

  • Are credit card rewards taxable?
  • When your credit card rewards are not taxable
  • When your credit card rewards are taxable
  • Do card issuers send 1099s for taxable rewards?
  • How do I know if I owe taxes on credit card rewards?
  • The bottom line
Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (17)

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (18)

Written by

Liliana Hall

Associate Writer

Read more from Liliana

Liliana Hall is a writer for CNET Money covering banking, credit cards and mortgages. Previously, she wrote about personal credit for Bankrate and CreditCards.com. She is passionate about providing accessible content to enhance financial literacy. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in journalism, and has worked in the newsrooms of KUT and the Austin Chronicle. When not working, she is probably paddle boarding, hopping on a flight or reading for her book club.

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (19)

Written by

Tiffany Connors

Editor

Read more from Tiffany

Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a senior editor for CNET Money with a focus on credit cards. Previously, she covered personal finance topics as a writer and editor at The Penny Hoarder. She is passionate about helping people make the best money decisions for themselves and their families. She graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and has been a writer and editor for publications including the New York Post, Women's Running magazine and Soap Opera Digest. When she isn't working, you can find her enjoying life in St. Petersburg, Florida, with her husband, daughter and a very needy dog.

Written by

Elizabeth Rivelli

Read more from Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a contributor to CNET and the The Simple Dollar, where she reviews insurance providers and policies. She has more than three years of experience writing for top online insurance and finance publications including Bankrate, Coverage.com and Reviews.com.

Advertiser Disclosure

CNET editors independently choose every product and service we cover. Though we can’t review every available financial company or offer, we strive to make comprehensive, rigorous comparisons in order to highlight the best of them. For many of these products and services, we earn a commission. The compensation we receive may impact how products and links appear on our site.

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File (2024)

FAQs

Are Your Credit Card Rewards Taxable? What to Know Before You File? ›

When credit card issuers offer rewards for making purchases, the IRS considers the rewards to be a form of rebate on the purchases. Thus, the cost of the purchase is reduced and the rewards are not considered taxable income.

Do I need to report credit card rewards on taxes? ›

Most tax experts agree that credit card rewards earned through the use of the card are non-taxable rebates and that you should be fine as long as you spend money to get something.

Do you have to claim Fetch Rewards on taxes? ›

Yes, all transactions on Fetch.ai involving the disposal of a crypto asset are in most cases taxable. You must also pay income tax on earned crypto such as staking, airdrops, or interest rewards.

Does having a credit card affect your tax return? ›

For the most part, your credit card debt has no impact on your tax returns, but there are some very specific circ*mstances where debt can have a major impact on your return and your chances of collecting a refund.

Do credit card companies check your taxes? ›

Card issuers sometimes ask you to verify your income, which you may be able to do by submitting copies of income-related documents, such as a tax return or pay stub.

Are loyalty rewards taxable? ›

You just need to know if the reward is paid to you before tax (gross) or after tax has been deducted (net). The gross figure goes into “other taxable income” and if paid gross, you can then account for the tax already deducted. So if you are a 40% or 45% tax payer, you will have more tax to pay if given to you net.

Are loyalty points taxable? ›

Points earned are generally not considered taxable income until they are redeemed for rewards or converted into cash value.

Is reward money considered taxable income? ›

Key takeaways

If your credit card issuer offers you rewards for making purchases, the IRS considers the rewards earned to be a form of rebate and not taxable income. If an issuer offers you bonus rewards with no strings attached, these offers may be taxable.

Does cashback count as income? ›

The statement makes it clear that whilst a cashback may in some circ*mstances be regarded as income (for example, where it is received in the course of the recipient's business or employment), it does not derive from a chargeable asset for capital gains tax purposes, and therefore no chargeable gain arises.

What are the rules for fetch rewards? ›

Only receipts that are scanned showing applicable purchases while the Offer remains in the App will qualify to receive Points. In order to earn points, any receipt you scan must contain a description of the product specific enough to confirm that the purchase was made.

Are Chase rewards taxable? ›

Generally speaking, credit card rewards are not taxable. In most cases, when you have to spend to earn rewards, those rewards are not considered taxable income.

Are car payments tax-deductible? ›

Car loan payments and lease payments are not fully tax-deductible. The general rule of thumb for deducting vehicle expenses is, you can write off the portion of your expenses used for business. So "no" you cannot deduct the entire monthly car payment from your taxes as a business expense.

Do credit cards report income to IRS? ›

Payment card companies, payment apps and online marketplaces are required to fill out Form 1099-K and send it to the IRS each year. They must also send a copy to you by January 31.

Are credit card rewards reported to IRS? ›

Generally, the IRS categorizes redemption of credit card rewards and frequent flyer miles as non-taxable. Instead of being seen as income, "they are treated as rebates or discounts on what you purchased," Steven Rossman, CPA and shareholder at accounting firm Drucker & Scaccetti, tells Select.

Does the IRS track your credit card? ›

A 2008 law, known as the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, mandated that debit and credit card payments be tracked by banks and reported to the IRS.

Do I have to tell credit card company my income? ›

The 2009 Credit CARD Act mandates issuers to assess borrowers' means to repay their debts before issuing a card or increasing a credit limit. You aren't obligated to provide information about your income to a credit card issuer unless you are applying for a new card or requesting a credit limit increase.

Do you have to claim credit card write off on taxes? ›

Credit card interest is not tax-deductible for personal expenses. The government stopped allowing a tax deduction for credit card interest in the 1980s. Interest on student loans, mortgages, home equity loans, and business expenses are still tax-deductible.

Do you have to pay taxes on gift card rewards? ›

Are Gift Cards or Prepaid Cards Taxable When Given as Employee Rewards? In short, yes. Because these kinds of rewards have a clear cash equivalent value, they are considered taxable income, just as a cash bonus would be.

Do credit cards report your spending to IRS? ›

Payment card companies, payment apps and online marketplaces are required to fill out Form 1099-K and send it to the IRS each year. They must also send a copy to you by January 31.

How are credit card rewards treated in accounting? ›

How are credit card rewards treated in accounting? Generally, credit card rewards are not considered income, so they're not recorded on a balance sheet.

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