I can’t possible know what you mean by “consolidating a student loan”, but it doesn’t sound anything like getting a rebate on the services of your real-estate broker.
But then, why would someone give you a “rebate” (cash back) for consolidating a loan?
If you are talking about “cancellation of debt”, sure that is taxable a income. Many of the people that foreclose on a house and get their debt canceled by the bank will experience that this year.
Any forgiven loan must be taxed as income. Otherwise your employer would be giving you payday loans each month, and then forgiving them the next (wink-wink). Good for everyone, except the IRS is too smart to let such a loophole exist.
