eBay

cinaste1 · ‎03-31-2025

I opened up my details report and went to column K where eBay fees charged are listed. 5 of the 50 some sales have no money listings(---). Why is that?

PS If I am losing money on every sale why do we have to jump through hoops to file with the IRS???

monica-sells · ‎03-31-2025

There are a few different reports. Column K on the 2 reports that I use, are not fees.

Anyways, that being said, it is really not that difficult. If you are losing money on every sale, then you have no worries. But, in the eyes of the tax collector, if you sell $1,000 worth of product, you received $1000.00 in taxable income. The responsibility to determine the taxable income is on you. You can choose to not do anything and pay taxes in the whole $1000.00, or you can take a few minutes and employ all the legal deductions and reduce that taxable income to a more realistic number.

Some people just settle for using the "payout" amount which does not reduce the income as much as possible (the payout amount does not deduct COG and other expenses required to get your product to the customer).

caldreamer · ‎03-31-2025

Don't know what report you are looking at but EBAY has "easy to read" 1-page report that shows YTD totals for (orders, refunds, EBAY fees, shipping expense). Go to PAYMENTS, REPORT (select LAST YEAR). IRS requires that you report your "gross income" and then deduct "business expenses".

GROSS INCOME (as shown on 1099 or EBAY report)

-Refunds

-EBAY fees

-Shipping expense

-Other expenses (cost of goods, mileage, packing materials, office supplies)

NET TAXABLE INCOME

mam98031 · ‎03-31-2025

@cinaste1

Exactly what report are you talking about? Please be specific as there are several reports available to a seller.

If you are loosing money on every transaction, that is a you problem. It would mean you aren't charging enough for what you are selling or you need to do better sourcing of items you want to sell.

What are you calling "hoops"? The fact that we are suppose to report ALL income in any given year?

Myth: If taxpayers didn't receive a Form 1099-K, they don't have to report income.
Fact: According to federal law, all income is taxable unless it is specifically excluded by tax law. Taxpayers should report any profits from selling goods or services, regardless of if they receive a Form 1099-K.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-never-mind-the-myths-know-the-facts-about-receiving-a-form-1099-k-i...

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

luckythewinner · ‎03-31-2025

@cinaste1 wrote:
PS If I am losing money on every sale why do we have to jump through hoops to file with the IRS???

If you are losing money on every single sale, you don't have to jump through hoops.

Personal items sold at a loss

If you sold items at a loss, which means you sold the items for less than you paid, there is no tax liability. You have 2 options to report the loss:

Report the payment on your tax return at the top of Schedule 1 (Form 1040) PDF. This will ensure you don’t pay taxes you don't owe; or
Report the loss on Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets, which carries to Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses.

cinaste1 · ‎03-31-2025

Sorry. It is the 1099-K details report.

As far as losing money, I assume everyone else is like me: I pay $18.00 for a paperback and have to sell it for $10 or so. I sell on eBay only to reduce the size of my library and rarely get paid more for a book than I paid for it originally. I understand that if I have proof I get an exemption for any particular item that I take a lose on. That's a lot of work.

luckythewinner · ‎03-31-2025

and rarely get paid more for a book than I paid for it originally

So you are NOT losing money on every sale, as you said earlier?

mam98031 · ‎03-31-2025

@cinaste1 wrote:
Sorry. It is the 1099-K details report.

As far as losing money, I assume everyone else is like me: I pay $18.00 for a paperback and have to sell it for $10 or so. I sell on eBay only to reduce the size of my library and rarely get paid more for a book than I paid for it originally. I understand that if I have proof I get an exemption for any particular item that I take a lose on. That's a lot of work.

Are you aware of how the 1099K works? I ask because many do not. This form does not report your income or sales to the IRS. It reports the total amount of money that came INTO your Managed Payment account. That is it, that is all it reports.

It is up to the seller to take that number, then subtract any shipping they purchased through Ebay, Ebay fees and any refunds given to buyers. That will get you to your adjusted Gross Sales. Now you need to subtract other costs you have that did not go through Ebay like inventory costs, shipping supplies, office supplies, etc. to then get to your Adjusted taxable income.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

cinaste1 · ‎03-31-2025

I was referring to 1099-K details report. Isn't col. K the eBay fees collected??

Thanks.

mam98031 · ‎03-31-2025

@cinaste1 wrote:
I was referring to 1099-K details report. Isn't col. K the eBay fees collected??
Thanks.

The 1099K does NOT state what the fees Ebay are that you paid.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

cinaste1 · ‎03-31-2025

I would guess I make money on 1 out of 100 sales which is overwhelmed by my loses.

luckythewinner · ‎03-31-2025

@cinaste1 wrote:
I would guess I make money on 1 out of 100 sales which is overwhelmed by my loses.

The information I posted was about reporting personal property sold at a loss - and under that method, the losses from one sale cannot be used to offset income from another sale.

So while you may see the difference been "most" and "all" as a minor one, the IRS does not.