Doctor of Credit has a nice post about this. Time will tell, but there is genuine concern about how the IRS views this as well as how the 3rd party processors will code them. In general "miles (unless you can turn them into cash) and "rewards" that are proportional to spending are not generally thought to be taxable (IRS has a few statements on this a few years ago), but "bonuses" - things like sign up your friends or open an account are generally viewed as income. That's the high level thoughts. Now there have been cases when banks and cc, have not followed this and sent out 1099's for rewards. Additionally, if these are coming through 3rd party processors, now both the bank/cc and the 3rd party processor would need to make sure it is coded to avoid being viewed as income. Since the reward is coming from a commercial operation and being paid through a 3rd party processor, it will be surprising if it is coded as a friend and family transfer. I have seen several posts that believe if you get over $600 in total from all rewards from a single service, expect to get a 1099. So if RMN gives you 301 through paypal and Rakuten gives you 300 through Paypal, expect Paypal to give you a 1099 for $601. Then on your taxes you would need somehow classify it as a reward, not as income, which may be difficult. Some are considering going to bank transfers instead of Paypal, which A: is riskier from an identity perspective and B: let's your spouse see your "mad money" (per some posts not me of course). Again... we'll find out in 13 months.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/stim...to-report-earnings-of-600-on-1099-k-tax-form/