Are credit card rewards etc... taxable?

[corn18]

I accumulated quite a lot of sign up rewards and cash back on my cards this year (nearly $2,000). I was wondering if this is considered taxable?

[MonkeyMama]

No. Credit card rewards are not taxable. That is just the icing on the cake!

[cardtrick]

Agreed. They're not considered income.

[disneysteve]

Agreed. They're not considered income.

The same goes for rebates from purchases which is another question that comes up from time to time. Since they are giving you back some of your own money, it doesn't count as income.

[cardtrick]

The same goes for rebates from purchases which is another question that comes up from time to time. Since they are giving you back some of your own money, it doesn't count as income.

That's what I was thinking. I vaguely remember reading something the IRS put out about CC rewards being treated as rebates. However, if you open a bank account and the bank gives you an opening bonus, you will have to report it and pay taxes on it.

[disneysteve]

if you open a bank account and the bank gives you an opening bonus, you will have to report it and pay taxes on it.

That makes sense since that is money that wasn't yours to start with.