Do I have to report Cash App money from my boyfriend when filing taxes?
My boyfriend and I are in a long-distance relationship, and he regularly sends me money through Cash App to help with my expenses. So far this year, he's sent about $820, and I expect that amount to increase as the year goes on. None of the individual transfers have been over $125. I'm just trying to get prepared for next year's tax filing season. Since this is personal money he's giving me (basically gifts), do I need to report this Cash App income when I file my taxes? I don't want to get in trouble with the IRS for not reporting something I should, but also don't want to pay taxes on money that's just personal gifts. Any advice would be appreciated!
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Emma Wilson
You don't need to worry about reporting this on your taxes. The IRS considers this a gift, not income. In 2025, the annual gift exclusion allows someone to give up to $18,000 to any individual without any tax reporting requirements (for either of you). Since your boyfriend is sending you less than $1,000 so far, you're well below that threshold. Even if he ends up sending more throughout the year, as long as it stays under $18,000 total for the year, there's no need to report it as income on your tax return. The person giving the gift would only need to file a gift tax return if they exceed that amount in a single year to one person. Cash App might send you a 1099-K if you receive over a certain threshold in commercial transactions, but personal gifts don't count toward that requirement.
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Malik Thomas
•Wait, I thought the new rules meant Cash App has to report ANY payments over $600 total to the IRS? I heard they changed the reporting requirements recently. Wouldn't she get a 1099-K anyway that the IRS would expect to see reported as income?
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Emma Wilson
•The $600 reporting threshold you're thinking about only applies to payments received for goods and services - basically business transactions. Personal transfers, like gifts from your boyfriend, don't fall under that requirement. Cash App and similar payment platforms do have ways to designate whether a payment is personal or for goods/services. As long as these transfers are properly categorized as personal, you shouldn't receive a 1099-K for them. Even if you did incorrectly receive one, you would explain on your tax return that the amounts were personal gifts, not income.
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NeonNebula
I was in the same situation last year with money from my parents, and I was completely stressed about it until I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). It helped me analyze exactly what I needed to report and what was considered a gift. Basically confirmed what the previous commenter said - gifts under the annual exclusion amount aren't taxable income to you. The tool saved me tons of research time because it specifically examined my situation with Cash App transfers and explained the difference between gifts vs income. It even helped me document everything properly in case I ever got questioned about it. Might be worth checking out if you're still unsure about your specific situation.
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Isabella Costa
•How exactly does taxr.ai work? Does it connect to your Cash App account or do you have to manually enter all the transactions?
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Ravi Malhotra
•Is it actually legit though? There are so many tax scams out there and I'm always suspicious of services that promise to solve tax problems easily.
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NeonNebula
•It doesn't connect directly to Cash App - you upload screenshots or statements of your transactions, and it analyzes them based on tax rules. You can also just describe your situation, and it will walk you through what documentation you need to keep and what rules apply. The service is absolutely legitimate. I was skeptical at first too, but it's backed by actual tax professionals who review the automated advice. It doesn't promise magical solutions - it just helps clarify your specific situation using the actual tax code. In my case, it clearly explained why my family gifts weren't taxable and what documentation I should keep just in case.
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Ravi Malhotra
Just wanted to update that I ended up trying taxr.ai after asking about it here. It was actually super helpful - I had a similar situation with Venmo transfers from family members. The service confirmed these were gifts and explained exactly how to handle them if the IRS ever questions me. It even created a simple document explaining my situation that I could keep with my tax records. Definitely not a scam like I initially worried!
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Freya Christensen
If you're worried about the IRS questioning these Cash App transactions later, you might want to consider using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get direct clarification from the IRS. I tried calling the IRS directly about a similar situation last year and was on hold forever. With Claimyr, I got through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes who confirmed that personal gifts through payment apps aren't taxable income. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I was really impressed with how quickly I got an answer straight from the source. Definitely beats trying to interpret tax rules on your own or waiting hours on hold.
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Omar Farouk
•How does this even work? I thought it was impossible to get through to the IRS without waiting for hours.
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Chloe Davis
•This sounds too good to be true. There's no way you actually got through to the IRS that quickly. They probably just connect you to some random call center pretending to be the IRS.
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Freya Christensen
•It uses a system that continually redials and navigates the IRS phone tree until it gets a spot in line, then it calls you when an agent is about to be available. I was skeptical about how it worked too, but it's basically just automating the painful process of calling, waiting, getting disconnected, and calling again. It's definitely the real IRS you talk to. The service just handles the waiting and navigation part, then connects you directly to the next available IRS agent. It's not a call center - you're talking to actual IRS employees who can access your tax records and provide official guidance. I confirmed this by verifying my identity with them and having them reference my specific tax information.
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Chloe Davis
I need to eat my words here. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS for weeks about some Cash App transactions I received from my side business. I got through in about 20 minutes and got everything sorted out. The IRS agent clarified exactly what I needed to report and what was considered personal transfers. Saved me hours of stress and probably prevented me from making a mistake on my taxes. I'm actually shocked it worked so well - usually anything IRS-related is a complete nightmare.
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AstroAlpha
Something else to consider - make sure your boyfriend knows these gifts don't count as tax deductions for him. My cousin thought he could deduct money he was sending to his girlfriend as some kind of "dependent support" and got himself in trouble with the IRS. Just a heads up!
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Javier Cruz
•That's a good point I hadn't thought about. I'll definitely let him know. Can you explain more about what happened with your cousin? Did he end up getting audited or something?
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AstroAlpha
•Yeah, he tried claiming her as a dependent because he was "providing over half her support" through these regular payments. The IRS flagged his return because she had also filed her own return claiming herself. He ended up having to pay back the tax deduction he incorrectly took, plus some penalties. It wasn't a huge amount, but it was definitely a headache. The IRS explained that for someone to be your dependent, they need to meet specific relationship and residence tests, not just receive financial support from you.
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Diego Chavez
Has anyone here actually received a 1099-K from Cash App for personal transfers? I'm hearing conflicting information about when they actually send these forms out.
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Anastasia Smirnova
•I got one last year, but only because I was selling stuff through marketplace and having people pay me through Cash App. My total was around $3,500. My friend who only uses it for splitting rent and personal stuff didn't get one even though she probably had more total transfers than me.
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Giovanni Gallo
Just to add another perspective here - I work as a tax preparer and see this situation frequently. The key thing to remember is that the burden of proof is on the IRS to show that money you received is taxable income, not on you to prove it's a gift. Keep good records of these transactions (screenshots showing they're personal transfers, maybe some text messages that show the context), but don't stress too much about it. The $18,000 annual gift exclusion is per person, per year, so even if your boyfriend sends you more than that, he would just need to file a gift tax return - you still wouldn't owe income tax on it. The most important thing is that these transfers are coded correctly in Cash App as personal rather than for goods/services. That alone should prevent any 1099-K issues.
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Sophia Miller
•This is really helpful to hear from a professional! I've been worried about keeping the right documentation. When you say "screenshots showing they're personal transfers" - are you referring to the transaction details in the app that show it's marked as personal? Or do you mean something else? Also, should I be keeping records of the text messages where my boyfriend mentions sending money, or is that overkill?
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