Ebay Accounting

Question

Ebay's "Overview" says I have a 90 day total of $558.38. My sum of the 8 items I have sold is $403.82. That's not accounting for any charges like selling fees and shipping labels. Also Ebay sent be a notice saying I have sold over $600 and they would send me a 1099K form for taxes. That is more than their own "Overview" number. Why are there so many different numbers?

And how in the heck am I supposed to know how much my wife paid for a lamp in 1979? We will have to file a Schedule C "Self Employed" form and maybe pay Social Security tax (15%) as well as income tax.

If you sold an heirloom item that you inherited you will have to determine how much it was worth on the day that the decedent died. Oh what fun.

wooden_flower · Answer

The overview includes sales tax paid by the buyer, which will not be included in your taxable sales. If you have issued any refunds, those are deducted in the overview. The 1099k will include all payments received, so you deduct any refunds as part of your cost.

I see 9 items in your sold listings since 2/20 - https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_ssn=huffmun&LH_Sold=1&LH_Complete=1

If you are selling household items, you do not need to use schedule C. If you made a profit, you report it as capital gains which are taxed at lower rates. If you did not make a profit, there is no tax to pay.

I know it is not easy to estimate costs of items purchased long ago. A tax preparer can help, but that might cost you more than the capital gains - you'll have to decide that.

If the $600 threshold does not get changed, I am hoping the IRS issues simple guidance on how to estimate costs of items purchased many years ago.