Hello, I know this is an old post, but I'm trying to understand this. If a company reimburses $10 for a meal and then pays $5, aren't they going to show the full $15 as a part of the 1099 they will send? And if the mystery shopper is getting to keep the product (meal in this case), wouldn't that be part of what the company is paying them... thus the full $15 should should be taxable income? Would it be any different if it was a product instead of a meal? What if it was something more expensive like a hotel stay or a product like a dishwasher?
