Thanks for the kind words. This extra work is taking a lot of the fun out of doing this for sure. I'm trying to get a process down so I'm efficient as I can be at doing all this. A lot of this reminds me of work using Excel spreadsheets and Adobe Acrobat to modify PDF files.
Oh man, the eBay forums are blowing up with The good 'ol days of simply just listing something for sale online, getting paid and not worry about anything, else are gone. I'm hoping local cash sales will pick up, and hopefully I can find some good deals locally.
Outside of those doing this for a living, I would guess that maybe 5% of sellers could provide proof of their cost basis for stuff being sold on eBay, even with a gun to their head. Everyone else is going to make something up, or, as the politicians who dreamt this up hope, will throw up their hands and just not claim any cost basis (hence paying taxes on the entire amount). It's no coincidence that the IRS does not provide a worksheet for 1099-K, thereby requiring the filer to figure out for themselves how they might even go about claiming a cost basis (on Schedule C). This will be a massive win for taxation, which will result in taxes that are probably far in excess of those that people should truly be paying.
Well, this is potential taxable income that legally and logistically could have been collected in prior years had the taxing authorities enlisted the assistance of electronic payment platforms earlier. Moral and ethical arguments aside, if income was motivated by profit, then it is taxable. What sticks in the craw of some will be that they got scooped up in the dragnet with other “more deserving” actual significant tax evaders. What calls into question a real problem for tax collectors is the appearance of unfair tax enforcement. There are few “loopholes” for all the new small businesses this new law will create come time to file taxes. Voluntary submission is important. The tax collectors next frontier? The under the table cash payroll economy. But how?
I just listed something for sale on Craigslist. For the first time ever, it asked me to enter my cell phone to get an authorization code. I hope this is to deter scammers or spammers, and not to track anyone's sales.
Hey, if anything ... selling on eBay cuts into your profit by, say, 15% - 25% (with expenses included). Add to that another potential 20% for the gubment (by claiming all sales as profit - not having proof of purchase). That's only 35% to 45% of your sale, gone. No big whoop, right? Yes, I'm being facetious --- (maybe?).
Income is taxable whether there’s a profit motive or not. Hobby income, by definition, is not driven by a profit motive. Yet it’s taxable.
Same here and it's frustrating. I have a lot of clutter and will often times go through the collection and part with stuff for a variety of reasons like reducing said clutter, upgrading to a better pressing, or simply just not wanting the item anymore, etc. A lot of it is also out of boredom and to create a routine of something to do. Some are profit and some are not. But like most, I don't have receipts.
I'm the same way with just having too many CDs and trying to cull the ones that aren't "essential", but I guess I am going to have to find a way around it because I don't want the extra headache of adding something else to my tax filing if I can avoid it. I've been selling a lot on here lately, but it's time to slow that down and likely just stop.
Same here, can't sell my stuff on eBay, and I don't want any Paypal transactions. I've heard nightmares about Paypal issuing wrong 1099s.
I've never had that issue. The issue is that any payment to you from PayPal is included. Sell something for $100 and have to issue a return of $100? That still shows up as $100 (plus any shipping costs you charged) on your 1099-K. Original purchase price, seller's fees, shipping costs, etc? No accommodation for any of that. All you get is a total that reflects the sum of payouts that PayPal (or eBay payments or whatever) sent you. The bottom IRS line is: Prove to us that you don't owe us 30% of every penny PayPal sent you last year.
Yeah, pretty much. All the self-righteous sellers yelling, "you should have been reporting your income all this time," are the same ones saying, "the free ride is over!"
I am printing out each refund amount posted on PP (that notice of refund that they send you via email, and dropping it into my 3-ring binder right behind the original transaction receipt. I've decided on a transaction spreadsheet, as well as a 3-ring binder supporting the sheet of transactions. It might be a nightmare for an auditor to go through (good luck to them), but at least it's all going to be there. I do end up with a few refunds per month every month. Buyers asking to cancel, or an over-payment on shipping, or a return, etc.
Is anyone including the shipping they paid in the price paid for an item? If I buy an amp I'm probably paying a lot in shipping which would seem to be a legitimate part of the cost paid when I go to sell it.
All of the costs of stock acquisition including incoming shipping charges and sales tax paid go into the cost basis for that item.
We have a "remain in Massachusetts" policy. Our border patrol tells would-be Mass migrants to return to their mansions and luxury condos until a decision is reached.
Personally, I would be very grateful if by some miracle of the universe, I could start over and be just a bit more frugal, just a bit more easy going and enjoy the simple (inexpensive) things just a bit more. Every time I compared myself to somebody else….it cost me money.
There's concern in the online seller community that if you get a 1099-k next year, in January 2023, it may cause the IRS to question where it came from, and why sales weren't reported in previous years. The concern is it could trigger audits for many. That's why they want to add 87,000 new agents.
Elon Musk said that the IRS already has a group dedicated to auditing the rich. The 87,000 new agents are for everyone else. Makes you think.....
At a $600 minimum there are going to be so many of these forms sent. Even people who aren't selling stuff will get these for simple things such as sending PP/Venmo to a roommate for their share of the rent. A whole lot of people likely also have no idea of this new policy and may thus ignore and/or not notice the form at all. And some people will even have to keep track of multiple forms if they go over that amount for more than one payment service.
I hope those people are smart enough to send via "friends and family," in which case PayPal won't generate a 1099.