Christmas Bonus or Gift?

[mckinly16]

We receive bags at the end of our work Christmas party with candy and a card that has cash in it. In my case, it was $300. My wife who has worked there less time got $100. I’ve never heard them mention a Christmas bonus. They just tell us to grab the right bag before we leave. Is this taxable? Do I need to ask my work if they consider it a gift or a bonus? 

[xmasbaby0]

Gifts that you receive are not taxable and you do not enter anything about a gift on a tax return.   If the employer treats it as wages, they will include it in box 1 of your W-2 and you will simply enter the amount from box 1.  There is nothing special for you to do with this on your tax return.

[rjs]

Money that you get from an employer is never a gift. Any money you get from your employer, including cash-value gift cards, is additional taxable wages and should be included in the wages in box 1 of your W-2. What you need to ask your employer is whether they included the value of the cards in your W-2. They probably did, since that's the correct way to handle it. If they did include it in your W-2, you don't have to do anything special. Just enter the W-2 in TurboTax.

If they did not include the cards in your W-2, post back here and I will give you instructions for how to enter the additional income in TurboTax so that it is treated as wages.