Tax forms

[sendmorechuckberry]

I just sent this to my congressman. Please help by doing something similar.

I am 70 years old. I live on Social Security. Like many Americans, I was not able to build a substantial 401k. I had to work full time in manufacturing to pay for living expenses. When you add up all the taxes I've paid (income, sales, property, utilities, licensing fees, road tolls, gas taxes, school taxes, etc.,) there wasn't much left to save for my retirement. I'm not against paying taxes. I understand that we need the services that our government provides. But now that I'm retired, I'm starting to sell off things that I no longer need or want to help enjoy the few years my wife and I have left on this earth. Selling on eBay gives me the income to do that. Please do something about this new requirement. I feel it is unfair and that I have paid enough taxes over my lifetime. Selling on eBay is like having a garage sale. Are we taxing those now? Enough is enough. 

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@sendmorechuckberry 

Although I feel your pain you have expressed,  we try to leave political ideas and statements out of the forum. It just doesn't end well.

     All I can advise is to save receipts to offset your sales, save your money and bank it in a higher interest CD or money market. Take advantage of some of the senior programs available and find some ways to cut costs.

    I wish you well, it's rough out there.

[rfmtm]

Just because you sell items, report income, and may or may not get a 1099, from ebay doesn't mean you owe any taxes.  For garage sales personal items you rarely make a profit so no tax is imposed.  Please talk to someone as to how to easily offset this income so that no tax is due.

[buyselljack2016]

@sendmorechuckberry 

Please do something about this new requirement. 

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All I can ask is................................................ what new requirement?

Seems that you have been a good American, filing/paying your taxes for a lot of years.

Filing taxes, reporting income/loss is nothing new.

[frugalmarketplace]

This post is inappropriate, it is political and not allowed on this forum. . We are much older than you, and frankly get tired of the drama. If you think you would be better off elsewhere then maybe there are other places where you could enjoy “your golden years” 

I will add that Social Security was Never designed to provide for your retirement. I was a SUPPLEMENT and that is it. 

[mr_lincoln]

@sendmorechuckberry 

I've often joked with my kids that one aspect of life is this:

-You pay to get in 

-You pay while you are here

-You pay to get out 

Granted, that's a simplistic view but gets the point across.  Fortunately, you were born in a country that allowed you certain opportunities that don't exist in many other countries. 

Putting the politics aside and addressing what I assume is a complaint about having sales tax applied to selling used items I would have to agree.  

If you mean you don't think your sales of used items should be included as part of your income tax about all I would say there is I would agree as it relates to personal property but not items purchased for resale.  The issue of course is that there is no infrastructure for eBay or any other online sales venue to determine what is someone's personal property or what is something acquired for resale ... and sadly, the venues would not be able to rely on all Sellers to be honest about that.

[bonjourami]

There are lots of senoir citizens sellers on this board, and I think most of us always knew to report our sales here on our income tax .Like any side hustle, you were always required to report that income. So this is nothing 'new'.

[fern*wood]

There is no new requirement.  I'd be careful, since it sounds like you are publicly admitting to only now reporting your sales due to receiving a 1099k.  

[soh.maryl]

"Please do something about this new requirement."

What new requirement? 

[toysaver]

"Selling on eBay is like having a garage sale. Are we taxing those now? Enough is enough. I'm also getting tired of being lied to by the Democratic party. They say they feel our pain but they sure don't act like it. This eBay requirement went into effect while Joe Biden was president."

You were always required to report your income. 

[tabcu51]

I doubt you're likely to get sympathy from those of us who have had to compete with sellers who never paid any income taxes on their online sales all those years. And I know you said "but just yard sale items" but then again that's exactly how it starts and it doesn't take long before it boils down to "if the government doesn't make me, I don't pay it" and that's exactly why we are where we are today. 

My only wish, is that my significant other would read what you had to say... We're in our 50's and my so doesn't seem a bit concerned about retirement at all, in their mind God will take care of us when that time comes, unfortunately my faith doesn't go there... If a heat pump on our house goes out we don't have the money to cover it, plainly put... However, I won't be writing letters to people asking them to bail us out.

[bonjourami]

The government just finally caught on to all the tax evaders with their internet sales. Im surprised that forcing this issue didnt start long ago.

[maxine*j]

A couple of points:

1.  You are complaining about a reporting requirement, not a taxing requirement.  Whether or not you owe taxes on the income which eBay is now required to report depends upon your own situation.  You were always obligated to pay taxes on your eBay income, if any taxes were due, no matter the threshhold for reporting.

2.  Use a tax preparer to do your return the first time you get a 1099K from eBay.  If your income is low, contact the New York Office for the Aging in your county for free tax assistance.

3.  Depending upon the jurisdiction and other factors, income from garage sales is taxable income on both federal and state returns, so your comparison is not apt.

3.  You weaken your case considerably by making this a partisan issue.  Partisan politics separates and divides people and yet, in the end, there's not a spit's worth of difference between the two major American parties.

And I'm older than you, since you seem to think age matters.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@sendmorechuckberry wrote: .... Selling on eBay is like having a garage sale. Are we taxing those now? ....

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No, you do not have to pay income tax on items that you sell for less than you originally paid for them.

I think maybe you put more effort into writing your post, than you put into researching your actual tax obligations.  As others have noted, sellers' eBay profit (if any)  has always been taxable; what's new is a reporting form that is designed to catch tax cheats.

Furthermore, the standard deduction is over $12,000 for individual filers and over $25,000 for couples, so you could profit that much and still not owe income tax on it.

[coolections]

Sorry but your letter will never be read and go immediately into the trash.