GPT Sites and Taxes

[Schachteles]

Ok, so I have a question...

On CD I made over the $600 so I had to submit my SS# for taxes, well I am almost to that point on SR and I e-mailed to ask them if I needed to fill out a form and they said that they don't do that?!?! WHY?? I am disappointed that I will need to declare the CD earnings (though I should be able to write off what I paid for the things off of it so I won't likely end up owing)...but still.

Anyone have insight on the difference between the sites? I know you have to with other ones like DBP, does it have to do with the whole ShiftCode thing?

One thing I do know is there is a GREAT reason to pound on SR!!

 

[M 'n C]

Not so fast. Anything you earn on any GPT site is reportable for income tax purposes. These earnings fall into the "other" income earnings. Per the IRS you have to report all income earned from any source. So you can't ignore your earnings when tax time comes around. The only difference is some sites like CD don't do shopping or true shopping. Shopping earnings are considered "rebates" not income.

So you can exclude those from your income but you can't exclude earnings from trials/freebies/surveys/etc. This is probably why you are seeing a differenc between Shiftcode sites and nonshift code sites. Basically anything you do on a shiftcode site would be income and has to be reported thus the Form 1099. Other sites like SR and QR have both so its actually your responsibility not theres to split out what your earnings are comprised of and what needs to be reported. They don't have to send out the 1099s based on what their site is doing.

And $600 is not a magic number. If you earn $50 on a site or $50 on Site A and $550 on Site B you have to report it so don't think if you are making under $600 per site you technically don't have to report it because if any one of these companies gets audited or if you get audited the IRS might find this and then you are in big trouble.

 

[M 'n C]

I am disappointed that I will need to declare the CD earnings (though I should be able to write off what I paid for the things off of it so I won't likely end up owing)...but still.

Sorry I just caught this statement. You can't write off what you paid for when you do trial offers since you are getting a product/service in exchange for what you are trying out/evaluating. You are thinking right now of yourself as an independent contractor or small business which is not what you want to do as that will throw you into another whole tax issue which is not fun and will require SS tax and medicare taxes.

 

[tcarr5]

Sorry I just caught this statement. You can't write off what you paid for when you do trial offers since you are getting a product/service in exchange for what you are trying out/evaluating. You are thinking right now of yourself as an independent contractor or small business which is not what you want to do as that will throw you into another whole tax issue which is not fun and will require SS tax and medicare taxes.

what about all those that were paid for, but products never received...I have many offers that I completed, paid for and NEVER received the item (or credit).

 

[M 'n C]

what about all those that were paid for, but products never received...I have many offers that I completed, paid for and NEVER received the item (or credit).

I think that should be something you contact your cc about to get a refund. They would not be tax deductions. If you tried to do an independent contractor status/small business status for all of these GPT sites then you'd be required to pay quarterly taxes (and thus penalties since you haven't been doing that) along with medicare taxes and SS taxes (which have not been paid). You would also have a higher tax rate as you would be thrown into the business tax rates not personal tax rates.

Honestly, just claim the income you are earning as "other" which would be similar to interest from savings accounts and don't try to write things off. When you start playing with your taxes you start throwing up red flags and get audited which is not fun.

 

[Schachteles]

HMMMM...GREAT...guess I didn't know there was going to be such a big hassle on it. Guess I will take my 1099 from CD and declare it.