A lot of us did the $250 Wells Fargo personal checking bonus during 2017 since it was easy and a nice bonus. Oddly, some people are getting a Form 1099-INT from Wells for the bonus while others have not. Repeated customer service and supervisor requests all yield the same reply: your account is a non-interest bearing account and is not subject to a 1099, even on the signup bonus.
While most banks report bonuses on Form 1099-INT, some banks consider interest to be miscellaneous income and subject to the minimum $600 reporting threshold of 1099-Misc.
I can not wrap my head around the fact that they sent it to some people and not others. Maybe someone else will figure it out.
If you were issued a 1099 it probably came in the mail. You can also find it in your online login: Accounts > View Statements & Documents.
On a related note, a commenter on the TD Bank bonus notes not getting a 1099, again because they consider bank bonuses to be Misc income subject to the $600 reporting threshold.
I’m not a tax expert, but presumably the bank’s decision to count it as Misc doesn’t exempt it from tax liability. These bonuses could probably be self-reported as interest income or some sort miscellaneous income.
There’s also an interesting comment regarding interest earnings which one bank claimed is not subject to 1099-INT since it has qualifications to earn. That’s an interesting theory, but seems like an outlier.
Some of you may have opened a Schwab brokerage recently and gotten the $100 bonus. My understanding is that brokerages don’t typically send out 1099s, probably since it’s not considered interest income, rather Misc. income which is subject to a $600 threshold.
A brokerage bonus of $600+ would probably get a 1099-Misc. Or perhaps brokerage bonuses are meant to offset fees of switching over (I was once told such a thing by a brokerage advisor), and then there’s no tax liability on that? Have to ask a tax advisor really.
