[Consolidated] 1099s for miles & cash rewards from all banks
Feb 10, 2014, 12:37 pm
#721
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 1,139
I opened a Citigold account with 30K AA miles and my wife opened one with 40K TYP. No 1099s for either of us. I have checked with Citi and the CSR said the 1099 would show in my account if one was going to be generated, and last time the flood of 1099 reports started mid-January. I think we are in the clear.
Feb 10, 2014, 12:41 pm
#722
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 1,139
Was it a 1099-MISC or a 1099-INT? Even if it was a 1099-MISC, as someone pointed out upthread, the issuer can choose to do a 1099 even if the amount paid is least than the minimum required for issuance.
Feb 11, 2014, 11:04 am
#724
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Andover, MA, 01810
Posts: 1,972
Feb 13, 2014, 8:17 am
#725
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
I can also confirm at this point I got no 1099 from Citi for last year's 30k sign up bonus. Given we are now a couple of weeks after the 31st Jan filing deadline I think we are in the clear ^
Feb 17, 2014, 5:47 am
#726
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 385
Received 1099 from Citi
I came back from vacation and found a 1099 MISC from Citi for $641.81 "Other Income." I called the number listed on the form for questions (Citiphone Banking, 1-888-248-4226) and the supervisor said it was related to Thank You Points but didn't have details. He put in a research ticket. By way of background: In 2012 I opened a checking account and got 40K TYP bonus. Didn't receive a 1099 covering 2012. In 2013 I redeemed about 40K TYP's for about $600 in plane tickets.
I'll post when they respond, although I'm probably doomed on this, would be good to know for future behavior.
I'll post when they respond, although I'm probably doomed on this, would be good to know for future behavior.
Feb 17, 2014, 7:56 am
#727
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 1,139
I came back from vacation and found a 1099 MISC from Citi for $641.81 "Other Income." I called the number listed on the form for questions (Citiphone Banking, 1-888-248-4226) and the supervisor said it was related to Thank You Points but didn't have details. He put in a research ticket. By way of background: In 2012 I opened a checking account and got 40K TYP bonus. Didn't receive a 1099 covering 2012. In 2013 I redeemed about 40K TYP's for about $600 in plane tickets. I'll post when they respond, although I'm probably doomed on this, would be good to know for future behavior.
I'll post when they respond, although I'm probably doomed on this, would be good to know for future behavior.But Citi has always treated the TY points differently than AA miles from a 1099 standpoint, even though there appears to be no tax law support for doing so. I understand the business reason since Citi knows the value of the TY points at the time of redemption (and Citi does not know if and when AA miles are redeemed), I just find no tax support for it. When they were issuing 1099s for AA miles given as a bonus for opening a bank account, they issued a 1099 for the AA miles at the time of issuance. When they issued TY points as a bonus for opening a bank account, they did not issue a 1099 until those TY points were redeemed by the customer within the Citi system (and did an elaborate tracking to separate the "nontaxable" TY points earned from credit card spending that are subject to the Rebate Rule and the "taxable" TY points earned from opening and maintaining the bank account).
I was hoping they decided to use the rebate rule even for TY points earned on the banking side and not issue a 1099 for those upon redemption - if they started to require the use of the debit card in order for the customer to get those TY points. But maybe not, which is why I am curious if you were required to use a debit card for a certain amount of purchases in order to obtain the TY points.
Feb 19, 2014, 6:08 pm
#729
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 385
Got an answer from CB about the 1099 issued related to my checking account. Boy did I get screwed over for doing the Member Get Member promo which put me over the $600.
I am closing this account! Next time I open a checking account w/ Citi I'll be more careful!
(Although I'm not happy about it at least they sent me a response that makes sense and sounds like they have a system .... although I'm not hearing that others are having a similar experience .... but it could just be that I did the silly Member Get Member promo plus redeemed 40K for plane tix in the same year.)
"The amount of $5xx.xx listed on the 1099 MISC represents the retail value of ThankYou Points redeemed on xx/xx/2013. If you are requesting details as far as what the points were redeemed for (i.e. merchandise, gift cards, etc.), please call the ThankYou Service Center at 1-800-842-6596.
In addition, Points do not have a fixed value. Redemption value is calculated based on a variety of factors related to the goods or services received by the customer. Pricing varies by redemption item and time of redemption. Since points do not have a fixed value and also reflect confidential business information, Citibank cannot provide customers with a specific
point value that will be used in all instances.
Our records also indicate your account received a credit of $100.00 on xx/xx/2013 for participating in our Member Get Member Promotion. However, this credit is reported as miscellaneous income. Please note a 1099 MISC will only be issued if your total miscellaneous income from Citibank and all its sources is $600.00 or more. That includes not only redeemed ThankYou Point Value but miscellaneous income from cash or other items of value other than interest.
For any other specific information regarding your Form 1099 MISC, please consult with a tax advisor."
I am closing this account! Next time I open a checking account w/ Citi I'll be more careful!
(Although I'm not happy about it at least they sent me a response that makes sense and sounds like they have a system .... although I'm not hearing that others are having a similar experience .... but it could just be that I did the silly Member Get Member promo plus redeemed 40K for plane tix in the same year.)
"The amount of $5xx.xx listed on the 1099 MISC represents the retail value of ThankYou Points redeemed on xx/xx/2013. If you are requesting details as far as what the points were redeemed for (i.e. merchandise, gift cards, etc.), please call the ThankYou Service Center at 1-800-842-6596.
In addition, Points do not have a fixed value. Redemption value is calculated based on a variety of factors related to the goods or services received by the customer. Pricing varies by redemption item and time of redemption. Since points do not have a fixed value and also reflect confidential business information, Citibank cannot provide customers with a specific
point value that will be used in all instances.
Our records also indicate your account received a credit of $100.00 on xx/xx/2013 for participating in our Member Get Member Promotion. However, this credit is reported as miscellaneous income. Please note a 1099 MISC will only be issued if your total miscellaneous income from Citibank and all its sources is $600.00 or more. That includes not only redeemed ThankYou Point Value but miscellaneous income from cash or other items of value other than interest.
For any other specific information regarding your Form 1099 MISC, please consult with a tax advisor."
Mar 11, 2014, 8:04 pm
#731
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 6
1099-misc from Citibank for thank you points use
Extra data point for those who are interested.
Got hit with a 1099-misc from Citibank for Thank You redemptions in 2013 for $619. This, of course, is just barely over the $600 redemption threshold that triggers the 1099-misc. According to the TY folks, they have the exclusive job of determining the value of a redemption, but it is supposedly one cent per point for travel redemptions. All TY redemptions in a calendar year apply towards the $600 reporting threshold. They didn't make a distinction between where the points came from.
I asked to challenge Thank You's valuation of the redemptions I received. Specifically, a hotel stay that they valued at $400 was absurdly inflated. Unsurprisingly, there is no official way to challenge the valuation.
Luckily, I'm a Citi-gold member so after, an hour on the phone, I got a Citi-gold supervisor to conference in a Thank You rewards supervisor and they ultimately offered to give me a statement credit for the extra taxes I would have to pay due to the 1099-misc.
Bottom line don't redeem TY points for big travel if you don't want the tax hit. I sure won't in the future.
But if you're stubborn enough and have a reasonable challenge to TY's valuation of a redemption, you may be able to get a statement credit to offset the tax hit.
Got hit with a 1099-misc from Citibank for Thank You redemptions in 2013 for $619. This, of course, is just barely over the $600 redemption threshold that triggers the 1099-misc. According to the TY folks, they have the exclusive job of determining the value of a redemption, but it is supposedly one cent per point for travel redemptions. All TY redemptions in a calendar year apply towards the $600 reporting threshold. They didn't make a distinction between where the points came from.
I asked to challenge Thank You's valuation of the redemptions I received. Specifically, a hotel stay that they valued at $400 was absurdly inflated. Unsurprisingly, there is no official way to challenge the valuation.
Luckily, I'm a Citi-gold member so after, an hour on the phone, I got a Citi-gold supervisor to conference in a Thank You rewards supervisor and they ultimately offered to give me a statement credit for the extra taxes I would have to pay due to the 1099-misc.
Bottom line don't redeem TY points for big travel if you don't want the tax hit. I sure won't in the future.
But if you're stubborn enough and have a reasonable challenge to TY's valuation of a redemption, you may be able to get a statement credit to offset the tax hit.
Mar 12, 2014, 7:36 am
#733
Moderator: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 2P, MR LT Plat, IHG Plat, BW Dia, HH Au, Avis PC
Posts: 5,457
I've moved your posts to MilesBuzz, where the master thread on this topic lives. Hopefully the mods there will merge the threads and you can review the other recent experiences for comparison:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...all-banks.html
Mar 12, 2014, 3:02 pm
#734
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: AA, UAL
Posts: 545
Cheers!
Mar 15, 2014, 5:50 am
#735
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 1,139
Extra data point for those who are interested.
Got hit with a 1099-misc from Citibank for Thank You redemptions in 2013 for $619. This, of course, is just barely over the $600 redemption threshold that triggers the 1099-misc. According to the TY folks, they have the exclusive job of determining the value of a redemption, but it is supposedly one cent per point for travel redemptions. All TY redemptions in a calendar year apply towards the $600 reporting threshold. They didn't make a distinction between where the points came from.
I asked to challenge Thank You's valuation of the redemptions I received. Specifically, a hotel stay that they valued at $400 was absurdly inflated. Unsurprisingly, there is no official way to challenge the valuation.
Luckily, I'm a Citi-gold member so after, an hour on the phone, I got a Citi-gold supervisor to conference in a Thank You rewards supervisor and they ultimately offered to give me a statement credit for the extra taxes I would have to pay due to the 1099-misc.
Bottom line don't redeem TY points for big travel if you don't want the tax hit. I sure won't in the future.
But if you're stubborn enough and have a reasonable challenge to TY's valuation of a redemption, you may be able to get a statement credit to offset the tax hit.
Got hit with a 1099-misc from Citibank for Thank You redemptions in 2013 for $619. This, of course, is just barely over the $600 redemption threshold that triggers the 1099-misc. According to the TY folks, they have the exclusive job of determining the value of a redemption, but it is supposedly one cent per point for travel redemptions. All TY redemptions in a calendar year apply towards the $600 reporting threshold. They didn't make a distinction between where the points came from.
I asked to challenge Thank You's valuation of the redemptions I received. Specifically, a hotel stay that they valued at $400 was absurdly inflated. Unsurprisingly, there is no official way to challenge the valuation.
Luckily, I'm a Citi-gold member so after, an hour on the phone, I got a Citi-gold supervisor to conference in a Thank You rewards supervisor and they ultimately offered to give me a statement credit for the extra taxes I would have to pay due to the 1099-misc.
Bottom line don't redeem TY points for big travel if you don't want the tax hit. I sure won't in the future.
But if you're stubborn enough and have a reasonable challenge to TY's valuation of a redemption, you may be able to get a statement credit to offset the tax hit.
I have never been a TY point participant, but I presume that the TY points have to be used as redemptions using a specified website such as Citi Travel, for instance. If Citi Travel has a hotel that it lists as $400 retail and you can get it for "free" by using 40,000 TY points that you earned by opening a bank account, and that exact same hotel room was available on Expedia for $150, you did not seem to get $400 of accession to wealth from the transaction.