Refund on hold

[Jborst730]

I received a refund for a product I returned to lowes. It was over $600. It was flagged as product and service so now it’s on hold until I put my tax id in. so they’re trying to say this is income but it is not. If I put my tax Id in I will receive a 1099 and then need to pay taxes on it. But again, this is not income it’s a refund. Every single person I talk to in customer service tells me the only way to get my money off hold is to put my tax id in. How is this possible? Why do I have to pay taxes on something that is NOT income?

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi @Jborst730, 

Welcome to the Community Forum and thank you for posting. I can understand the frustration with obstacles that you're encountering. I hope I can help.

If the funds were returned to you as a refund on the original transaction, it would not be subject to tax. Refunds are just that-refunds and are not received payments. If the merchant sent you the payment as a Goods and Services transaction, then it would be viewed the same as any other Goods and Services transaction and be subject to tax implications. There would be no way to differentiate it from any other received payment.

If the merchant returned the funds as a payment, I recommend reaching out to them and arranging the refund of the payment they sent you, and for them to use the original transaction to refund instead.

I hope this helps!

Olivia