Chase Is Sending Out Erroneous 1099's

Tax time is always stressful for people, and that is when everything you need comes to you accurately and on time. So often that isn't the case though, and it just rachets up the stress level even more. We saw this last year with three different examples of banks sending out inaccurate 1099's. Amex even got in one the fun with some extremely late 1099's last year, which were well past the required date, and basically double tapped their chest with a – my bad. It looks like the fun will continue this year, since Chase is sending out erroneous 1099's. The semi-good news is Chase had some errors last year and sent out corrected 1099's when they realized it. Hopefully the same happens this year.

**Note: this article is just for informational purposes and is NOT tax advice. Contact your tax professional on any and all 1099 forms.

What Is Happening

We have had a few reports that Chase is sending out erroneous 1099's today in the ToP Facebook Group. So far we have noticed three different issues. If more roll in over the next few days I will update this with any new information and let everyone know. Here is what we know so far:

• Inaccurate 1099 Problem One
  • A group member received a 1099 that had their $200 Amazon Prime Visa bonus attached to it, along with $400 from a 40K Ink referral bonus
• Inaccurate 1099 Problem Two
  • Another member received a 1099 for Chase Offers, including those portal bonus points offer from the Chase My Bonus targeted offers.
• Inaccurate 1099 Problem Three
  • The 1099's are several hundred of dollars, or even thousands, above the amount of the referrals earned.

Why Are These Inaccurate?

The reason that I see these as being inaccurate (as a non tax professional not giving advice) is because rebate on spend should not be taxable. That is why we do not receive 1099s for welcome offers or normal spending on our cards. It is also why you receive 1099s for bank bonuses and referral bonuses, since it is not a rebate on spend.

A $200 Amazon Prime card welcome offer is a rebate on the minimum spend required. Chase Offers are a built in coupon that require a set amount of spend to trigger them. Neither of these should cause Chase 1099's to be sent out.

What Should You Do?

If Chase is sending out erroneous 1099's to you, how should you handle it? Facebook Group member Rita gave us a number to try that worked for her last year. She said to call 866-339-8391 and ask for escalation credit card / tax / collection department to find out what the 1099 is for exactly or to try to dispute it. I think a lot of people called last year and that is why they sent out the updated 1099's last year. You may even want to consider filing a CFPB complaint on it, since that usually triggers a quicker response.

You may need to hold off on filing your taxes till closer to the deadline to see if that comes through. I would not file with the incorrect 1099 if you can help it. If you have to file towards the end of the timeline, with the incorrect 1099, then I would consult with your tax professional on how they want to handle it. They may have a way to dispute it in your filing etc.

Chase Is Sending Out Erroneous 1099's: ToP Thoughts

The fact that Chase is sending out erroneous 1099's is annoying and adds unneeded stress for their customers. That is the same fact for every bank that does something like this EVERY SINGLE YEAR. I don't understand it really, since this isn't a new system. It isn't like this is a new law they are still figuring out. They have had this system in place for years now, so why all the issues? It should be a pretty simple program to keep in line once you have it set up and running. The Amazon Prime card isn't new, and Chase Offers are not new, so what changed that they would trigger these 1099's this year?