In February 2014, U.S. Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens used TurboTax software to complete his 2013 personal income tax return. When Raylan was nearly finished with his return, TurboTax presented Raylan with a promotional offer claiming to increase his federal income tax refund. Specifically, if Raylan elected to receive any portion of his federal income tax refund in the form of a gift card to Amazon.com, Intuit (the makers of TurboTax software) offered to match an additional 10% of the elected amount in Amazon.com gift certificates, free of charge. Raylan's total tax refund was $6,000, and he elected to apply $5,000 of his total refund to this offer. Raylan received an Amazon.com gift card from Intuit in March 2014 for $5,500 (i.e., $5,000 applied refund plus 10%). Raylan used the entire $5,500 gift card to purchase a new high-definition television and sound system so he could watch all of his favorite shows in style.
Would any portion of the gift card be considered gross income and why? Cite Primary Authorities.