Flight Credit

[jordankouri]

Hi, I am wondering about visa gift cards from Airlines. We were asked to move to another flight and given a visa gift card. Is this considered taxable income since it is a visa gift card that can be spent on anything or cashed out? Thank you!

[rjs]

No, it's not taxable income, and you do not report it on your tax return. It's a partial refund of what you paid for your flight.

[jordankouri]

Is that the case even though it was more than what we paid for the ticket?

[JotikaT2]

It depends.

There isn't any clear guidance on excess amounts being reimbursed.  As a general rule, any excess amounts reimbursed where the fair market value exceeds your services (or in this case, your prior payment), could potentially be considered taxable as miscellaneous income. Please see this link for additional guidance on taxable and nontaxable income.