My employer gave me a $100 Walmart gift card as a Christmas bonus, how do I put that on my taxes?

[DoninGA]

It is a gift so does not have to be reported on a tax return.

[xmasbaby0]

Gifts are not entered on a tax return.  You do not put it anywhere.

[Opus 17]

Anything you receive of value in return for your services is taxable income.  This is not a tax-free gift.  Employers are not allowed to make tax-free gifts except within the narrow limits set out in IRS publication 15-B and this does not fit one of those exceptions.  

Your employer is required to include the gift in your W-2 box 1 taxable income and to withhold social security and Medicare tax.  

If your employer does not report this, there is a way to report this as “other income that should have been on my W-2”.  That way you only pay 7.65% social security and Medicare tax instead of 15.3% self employment tax.  I can’t look up now exactly how to report this, but I would first wait and see if it is included in your W-2 income.  

[Mike9241]

that's taxable income that your employer should include on your w-2

Internal Revenue Code Section 102 covers the general rule that excludes property acquired “by gift, bequest, devise, or inheritance” from gross income. However, section (c)(1) of this law provides that employee gifts (including prizes and awards) – specifically “any amount transferred by or for an employer to, or for the benefit of, an employee” – may not be excluded from gross income.

So the general rule is that employee gifts and prizes are counted as income. However, as with most laws, there are exceptions.

“De minimis” fringe benefits are excluded from income. De minimis benefits are those that are “so small as to make accounting for [them] unreasonable or impractical.” For example, “occasional tickets for entertainment events; [certain] holiday gifts; flowers, fruit, books, etc., provided under special circumstances, etc.”

The IRS has ruled that items with a value exceeding $100 cannot be considered de minimis. Additionally, cash and cash equivalent gifts/prizes (such as gift certificates) cannot be considered de minimis or excluded from income because there is no difficulty in accounting for such prizes.