Tax Deductions

[thehomeshops]

There has got to be an easy way of seeing how much I paid in shipping, eBay fees, refunds, etc. for tax purposes.

I've read some work arounds to get all the information, but surely there's any easier way!

Any help/advice would be very much appreciated!

[buyselljack2016]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

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@buyselljack2016 wrote: ... I do not know if changing from an "individual" to a "business" account after the fact will make the reports available.

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Yes, it will.  Upgrading to a business account takes just a few minutes.
 
 

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Went to PayPal to do that once. It looked like they wanted things I did not have .....  like a business , or llc name, or some such.  Don't have one, and use same PayPal for 2 selling accounts, and a buying account where most purchases for shipping supplies are made. Not many of those.

I, like southernsweet, use the ledger for recording my sales/expenses , but that is a lot of adding of the individual columns/pages. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@buyselljack2016 wrote: ... Went to PayPal to do that once. It looked like they wanted things I did not have .....  like a business , or llc name, or some such.  Don't have one ... 

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Just make one up or use your eBay ID, or your initials and last name, it doesn't matter, it's just a box to fill in.

[escuintla]

Very easy to do.

Grab all your profit and cash it in the bank with $100 bills.

Then go home and throw them in the air. Then repeat after me: Dear IRS, grab what is yours, whatever falls is mine. 

[moms**art**window**]

i used USPS twice last year it was easier for me just to pull up in email that's the only search i did FYI

[divwido]

Do yourself a huge favor and set up accounting for 2019.

[ozarkjoe]

I was surprised and disappointed after my first year of selling when I found out that eBay did not provide a nice summary for the whole year's activity.  

[myboardid]

Keeping records throughout the year is really the best way to be prepared for tax season. 

I record my sales and expenses daily, every single day.  If something happens to put me behind I spend the time to catch up ASAP.  And I am very old fashioned.  I use a very old DOS-based checkbook program that I have had since the late 70's. 

[mam98031]

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

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@buyselljack2016 wrote: ... I do not know if changing from an "individual" to a "business" account after the fact will make the reports available.

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Yes, it will.  Upgrading to a business account takes just a few minutes.
 
 

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Went to PayPal to do that once. It looked like they wanted things I did not have .....  like a business , or llc name, or some such.  Don't have one, and use same PayPal for 2 selling accounts, and a buying account where most purchases for shipping supplies are made. Not many of those.

I, like southernsweet, use the ledger for recording my sales/expenses , but that is a lot of adding of the individual columns/pages. 

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Just use a DBA [doing business as].  Your DBA could be most anything.  It could be DBA Jack's Buying and Selling or most any other thing your creative mind can dream up.

[mam98031]

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@ozarkjoe wrote:

I was surprised and disappointed after my first year of selling when I found out that eBay did not provide a nice summary for the whole year's activity.  

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An item sold on Ebay does not always equal a sale.  The buyer may never pay or the order may get cancelled.  So if they did provide a list, you would need to have alternative records to make sure you didn't over state what your income was or is off Ebay.

I do agree the report would be nice, but I wouldn't depend on it to tell me what my sales were.  I have my own records for that.  But that is what I prefer.  Others will have their own preferences.

[7606dennis]

You should have been keeping records of all your income and expenses since you started your business.  I would advise you to consult an accountant and/or your tax professional.  Without records to support your deductions you will end up not being able to claim them.  That is why sound bookkeeping is so important.  

[this*old*attic]

If you have a dedicated work room, you can even deduct part of your rent or mortgage.

[buyselljack2016]

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@this*old*attic wrote:

If you have a dedicated work room, you can even deduct part of your rent or mortgage.

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How about my cup of hot cocoa that I drink  after taking packages out through the snow to the mailbox. I am viewing "my eBay" while I drink it

[nobody*s_perfect]

I think in order for that to count as a business lunch you'd have to drink it in the car while you drive to the Post Office.

[clu3]

I agree.

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@ozarkjoe wrote:

I was surprised and disappointed after my first year of selling when I found out that eBay did not provide a nice summary for the whole year's activity.  

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I agree. 

I ended up keeping a copy of all my ebay invoices (the ones that list the sales specifics) in Microsoft One Note.

When I save the file I title it Month $sales $fees.  As long as I keep up quarterly, tax time isn't such a hassle.

[clu3]

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I went to PayPal and downloaded a full report for 2018 to Excel.  With some cleaning up and rearranging of the data, it works beautifully.  I totaled the Sales, Ebay Fees, Shipping Fees, Refunds in separate groups.

Added a column to the Sales group to input my cost to the left of the item description (a lifesaver, I can never remember what sold for how much).

Definitely better than my old method of monthly reports to OneNote.