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Are returns allowed?

June 30, 2013 07:46PM
I'm new to mystery shopping. I've completed one successful shop so far and have a few more coming up soon. I understand only fees are considered income and are taxable (not reimbursements), so that's a great thing. What would happen if you decided you wanted to return or exchange an item you were reimbursed for? Does a record get established around your receipt in the store's records that you were a mystery shopper? The first shop I did it said I was required to keep my purchase, but I am wondering, how would anyone know if you returned or exchanged something? Thanks for any help you can give!
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July 01, 2013 01:32AM
The company gets a copy of the receipt, so they could set up their system to alert them if you make a return on that receipt. Not saying that's going to happen, just saying it could happen. If the guidelines state you cannot return the item, it would be best not to take the chance. You could lose the opportunity to shop for that client and that mystery shopping company in the future. If you want to make returns in other cases, I suggest you check with the mystery shopping company and ask for an email clarifying the policy in place.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.
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July 01, 2013 11:19PM
nycrocks, be careful with those 1099s. Some of the companies roll the reimbursements into the total 1099 figure and some don't. You'll need to keep careful records of all fees and also keep a careful record of all reimbursements separately. You'll discover at tax time that's what you need. Work up your Schedule C using your own figures and don't try adding up the 1099s because some may contain the reimbursements and some may not. You can report the total of fees and reimbursements added together as gross income. Then you subtract your reimbursements as a business expense. This zeros out the reimbursements paid to you when you subtract them as expenses.

The best source of tax information is IRS.gov but glad to help if I can.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.
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