Gift cards or convert them to Rapids Rewards points. 4500 SWAG buys 5000 RR points.

The Company pays the taxes for passes for immediate family members. The other passes and taxed via the SWAG points as stated above. The cost (tax) is about $12-15 per pass.

Imputed income is also used for Loss of License insurance. If you opt in for the tax-free LOL, you pay the tax on the company paid benefit. This will make the LOL pay tax-free. It shows up as Imputed Income.

There are no taxes for immediate family members flying on passes currently. That exemption might go away in the future but there are no taxes for the company to pay.

There is a exemption for immediate family including parents.

Which means you are paying imputed income on all of those things. The IRS gets their money, just the same, no matter what you barter the SWAG points for.

That’s the federal law. SWA just structures it different than others. The tax still gets paid and ultimately YOU pay it at your marginal rate.

One more time. There is no tax or imputed income for airline standby passes under the US tax code for immediate family members. This includes parents. There is a exemption.

Excargodog
SWAG points are not used for non-rev travel for the employee, the employee’s spouse, the employee’s dependents, or the employee’s parents. In fact no SWA employee is required to participate in the SWAG program and they still get full flight benefits and there is no imputed income paid. Also retirees get flight benefits and they don’t pay any taxes on the flights. Again at SWA there are no taxes paid on flight benefits for active or retired employees and those family members eligible for flight benefits. The only taxes is on SWAG points which are not connected to flight benefits and there is no requirement to collect SWAG points.

Thanks all. This helps a bunch.

Can you source that?

Well not one airline in the country charges imputed income for immediate family members. What more proof do you need.