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New Member
posted Jun 4, 2019 12:50:05 PM

I received a bonus for opening a new checking account last year. The bank said they're not issuing tax form for bonuses. Should I enter the interest income?

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2 Replies
Level 10
Jun 4, 2019 12:50:06 PM

Please read the following and note you can always choose to report a 1099 that you didn't receive.

The facts and circumstances of the specific reward program generally dictate whether the financial institution has to send Form 1099-INT (1099-INT) or Form 1099-MISC (1099-MISC) to the IRS and reward recipients.  Cash payments in respect to deposits are clearly interest income.

Cash gifts in excess of the 1099Int reporting requirements should be reported by your financial institution (current threshold limit is $10).  But often they give non-cash gifts such as gift cards.

Assuming the noncash gifts are not de minimis, as described below, the bank would have to issue a 1099-INT to the IRS and the recipient.

Certain de minimis premiums excluded

Certain incentives that do not meet the definition of a nontaxable rebate can, nonetheless, avoid the reach of the 1099-INT requirements. The exception covers certain de minimis, noncash inducements offered to depositors who open a bank account. However, two criteria confine its scope:

  1. The exception is only applicable to noncash benefits
  2. The value of the incentive must be less than $10 for a deposit of less than $5,000, or less than $20 for a deposit of at least $5,000

Even so, for applicable de minimis, noncash amounts, the ruling benefits both the bank—by alleviating the Form 1099 filing requirement, and the taxpayer—by allowing the benefit to be excluded from gross income on the taxpayer’s return.

New Member
Jun 4, 2019 12:50:08 PM

Thanks much maglib. You mentioned I can choose to report. Since I didn't receive any 1099 from the bank, I can choose to not to report. And is my assumption correct that IRS didn't have a tax form neither from the bank.