If you received a discount on your cell service or on a new phone, then it is not taxable no matter how much benefit you received.
If you got cash or other money, and you received more money than you paid for the phone, the excess/difference is taxable income.
I had the phone for the 2 year contract period, receive money but not excess of phone value just what it was worth at the time of trade in
In fact, it doesn't even matter if you get more than the phone is worth on the fair market (used) -- it only matters if you receive more than your original purchase price (including down payment, monthly payment, or contracted subsidy, depending on what kind of plan it was).
That's good to know;however, none of the above applies to this transaction . I contacted provider & the tax form is just for my record keeping purposes, taxes for device were paid for upfront. Thanks to all for the help.
We're not talking about sales tax here, but income tax. The general rule is that whenever you sell an item for more than you paid for it, the profit is taxable income. The rule usually would apply to people who buy and sell stuff for a living, and it would apply if you sold for example a baseball card collection for more than you paid for the cards when you collected them. It also applies to personal electronic devices but of course, most of the time you sell used items, you get less than you paid so the money is not taxable.