Are frequent flyer miles ever taxable?
This article organizes the original guidance on are frequent flyer miles ever taxable? into clear sections for easier reading and reference.
Overview
This opening section presents the main context from the original post.
If you recently redeemed frequent flyer miles to treat the family to a fun summer vacation or to take your spouse on a romantic getaway, you might assume that there are no tax implications involved. And you’re probably right—but there is a chance your miles could be taxable.
Usually tax free
This section keeps the original guidance focused on usually tax free.
As a general rule, miles awarded by airlines for flying with them are considered nontaxable rebates, as are miles awarded for using a credit or debit card.
The IRS partially addressed the issue in Announcement 2002-18, where it said, “Consistent with prior practice, the IRS will not assert that any taxpayer has understated his federal tax liability by reason of the receipt or personal use of frequent flyer miles or other in-kind promotional benefits attributable to the taxpayer’s business or official travel.”
Exceptions
This section keeps the original guidance focused on exceptions.
There are, however, some types of mile awards the IRS might view as taxable. Examples include miles awarded as a prize in a sweepstakes and miles awarded as a promotion.
For instance, in Shankar v. Commissioner, the U.S.
Tax Court sided with the IRS, finding that airline miles awarded in conjunction with opening a bank account were indeed taxable. Part of the evidence of taxability was the fact that the bank had issued Forms 1099 MISC to customers who’d redeemed the rewards points to purchase airline tickets.
The value of the miles for tax purposes generally is their estimated retail value.
If you’re concerned you’ve received mile awards that could be taxable, please contact us and we’ll help you determine if you have any tax liability.
Related Resources
These resources connect the article topic with related Bowers service pages and approved professional reading.
FAQ
The questions below summarize the main points already covered in the article.
What is the main focus of Are frequent flyer miles ever taxable??
The article focuses on are frequent flyer miles ever taxable? and organizes the original guidance into sections for easier review.
What topics does the article cover first?
The article begins with usually tax free and then continues through the remaining points in the original post.
Which additional areas are included?
Additional sections include exceptions.
Does the post include action items or reminders?
Yes. The original post includes listed items that have been kept in list format for easier scanning.
Was the original post wording changed?
The revision keeps the author wording and updates the structure so the post is easier to read online.