Perhaps not the right forum to discuss, but it seems to come up a lot. Everything we're all doing with MS is legal and justifiable if we ever have to stand up to an audit or court of law, but it can still warrant someone to look into you.

The point is that everyone should be prepared to defend themselves with whatever they think would help (company reimbursement forms, receipts, online statements, etc).

Imagine a year from now if you didn't have any records and then you got audited. For all they know, you could be the patsy for a drug dealer or other money laundering operation. You'd be SOL.

I'm all about playing the game, but people should know the risks (however low) and think about what they're potentially getting themselves into.

When you have a financial gain, it is taxable,
If you are honest you report it.

Spin it any way you like.

Once you exceed 10% of your income in these games you are asking for trouble.

Wouldnt the credit card statements act as receipts?

I keep some records (keep all of my old cards and receipts, etc) but I think the best record is actually FT itself. I have a handle here, linked to an e-mail that is registered in my name, where we discuss the ins and outs of MS and exactly what is going on. This is not definitive evidence of what is going on, but it certainly is suggestive. I suppose their could be some hardened criminal actively participating here as a scapegoat for their real activity, but that is pretty far-fetched.

Not true.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-02-18.pdf

This is the closest thing to guidance that the IRS provided, and it specifically provides that ". . . 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 . . . "

While this is specifically related to miles received as a result of travel, it is the closest thing to guidance that we have.

[Note: This is not tax or legal advice. I am not a legal or tax professional. Don't take tax or legal advice from an online forum.]

Cash back rebates are not taxable

But save all things anyway

Good thing, otherwise anyone who has a reward card could end up in the claws of the IRS:D

But I still can't see why we need to save the receipts and cards if my BB and CC statements plainly show what I'm doing. I'm willing to change my mind but I just can't see how those would help.

MM this is not a personal attack, you've given more advice on how to maximize MS and I appreciate it, I really just can't see why to save it

The only concrete reason I've seen/experienced is with MVD hang ups. Incomm has asked people for copies of VR's, receipts, etc. before resolving issues. Check out the MVD thread for details. This is not meant to extrapolate across all MS, just one example where record keeping is helpful or needed.

My point, and many others' as well, is what good does holding onto cashed out gc's and reload cards serve after a couple months? What will save you from the IRS is proving your cc spend which is easily done by cc statements and bank statements. To each their own, whatever makes you sleep well I guess. If that's a closet full of used gc's, fantastic. Me, I don't have the closet space, my wife likes to shop.

No one can deny the IRS may decide to pursue this at some point, but before they go on a MS witch hunt they would likely clarify their previous position on the taxation of CC rewards. And you would probably see CC issuers start sending out 1099s, just like you can get today for a reward or bonus connected to a deposit account. But it doesn't seem clear how it would be decided what is income and what is a rebate. I mean if you earned $10k of rewards due to MS but also used that card to buy $10,001 of other goods and services, could it not be argued you used your CC 'rebate' to offset that.

And why was his account closed? Because he broke the T&C of the card...

People usually are never upfront on the whole story when an account gets closed, since they want to get the rank and file all up in arms.. But believe what you want, but the last company I would want to get mad at me is AMEX...

I guess i save stuff cuz of that day when somehow some entity like bb or irs or something does suddenly need all linds of back info or else

I base it only on some past loose experience and the fact i have ample storage bins in the unfinished basement anyway

This.

I keep receipts more out of protection from InComm / BB / etc. There are reports of cards not loading properly, scams being run where the cards are unloaded by the time people get home, cashiers (mistakenly or intentionally) giving the wrong card to the purchaser, etc.

I keep receipts and cards to have "proof" in case one of these comes up. I probably don't need to keep them as long as I do, but that's just a preference issue.

Fair enough, I've been at this long enough to know that Marathon Man knows his stuff. Might as well throw cards and receipts in a shoe box.

A receipt is a lot more detailed than a cc statement. Try getting exact numbers from there.

Furthermore, irs requires receipts for anything over x. I don't recall if $50 or slightly higher.

The year end statements are just guidance.

How hard is it to keep a receipt ? Just staple it onto the damn vr card and file it away.

Turn it around...

Nothing bad will happen if you hang onto the receipt and cards.
Are you 100% sure nothing bad will happen if you don't have receipts?

I have seen irs do full examinations. Then there are money laundering investigations, what about if your account gets shut down and points taken away and you want to sue?

No records? Go pound sand.

You can't be lazy in this game.