Do online shopping rebates and cashback count as taxable income?

This is a good question that comes up a lot! Generally, rebates on products you purchase are considered price reductions rather than income, so they're usually NOT taxable. The IRS views this as you simply paying less for the product, not earning income. However, there's an important distinction: if you're getting cash back for something without actually purchasing a product (like referral bonuses or signing up for services), that would typically be considered taxable income. The key factor is whether the rebate is tied directly to a product purchase. If you're getting money back on items you actually bought on Amazon, that's usually considered a purchase price reduction and wouldn't be taxable.

I was in your same situation last year! I was getting checks from multiple rebate sites and was super worried about the tax implications. After researching and stressing about it, I found this tax document analysis tool at https://taxr.ai that really helped clarify things. I uploaded screenshots of my rebate confirmations and it analyzed whether they were likely taxable or not. It also helped me understand what documentation I should keep just in case. Definitely gave me peace of mind since the tax rules around these things can be confusing as hell. The tool explains everything in simple terms instead of all the technical IRS language.

Just wanted to update after trying that taxr.ai site mentioned above. I uploaded screenshots of my rebate dashboard and a few of the confirmation emails, and it actually clarified everything! Turns out most of my rebates are considered purchase price reductions (not taxable), but some of the signup bonuses and referral rewards I got might be taxable. The analysis explained exactly which types of rewards fall into which category and why. Super helpful since I was planning to just ignore all of it on my tax return, which apparently could have been a problem for some of the rewards. It even gave me a summary I can keep with my tax records in case of questions later. Definitely recommend if you're confused about this stuff like I was!

If you're still confused after getting advice, you might want to talk directly to an IRS agent. I had a similar question about reporting some side income and tried calling the IRS for WEEKS. Always busy signals or hours-long wait times. I found this service called Claimyr at https://claimyr.com that actually got me through to a real IRS person in about 15 minutes. They have this system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you, then calls you when an agent is actually on the line. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Honestly thought it was BS at first but it actually worked. The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that product rebates aren't typically considered taxable income when they're directly related to purchases. Saved me tons of stress!

I was totally wrong about Claimyr being a scam - I actually tried it after posting my skeptical comment. Had been trying to reach the IRS for days about a weird letter I got, and was getting nowhere. The service actually did exactly what it promised. It navigated through all those annoying IRS menu options, waited on hold for like 45 minutes, then called me when an agent was on the line. The agent confirmed what others are saying here - regular purchase rebates aren't taxable income since they're considered price reductions. Saved me hours of frustration and resolved my anxiety about the rebate issue. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong about something!

I'm a little confused still. What if you're buying stuff for your small business on Amazon and getting rebates? Would those rebates be taxable then? Or would they just reduce your business expense deduction amount?

Has anyone used TurboTax to report these kinds of rebates? Do they have a special section for it or guidelines on how to handle it?

This thread has been really helpful! I'm in a similar situation with multiple cashback apps and was getting worried about tax implications. One thing I wanted to add - make sure you keep good records of your rebates even if they're not taxable. I learned this the hard way when I got audited a few years ago (for unrelated reasons). The IRS agent asked about some deposits in my bank account that were from rebate checks, and I had to scramble to find documentation proving they were purchase rebates and not unreported income. Now I keep a simple spreadsheet with the date, amount, which app/site it came from, and what purchase it was tied to. Takes like 2 minutes each time I get a rebate, but gives me peace of mind. Better to have the documentation and not need it than the other way around! Also wanted to thank everyone who shared those tools and services - definitely going to check them out for my more complex tax questions.