Your monthly breakdown

[sensatio_56]

I will like to know when is it that the yearly sales start ? In January 1st or from December of the previous year till December of the current year. Is a little confusing because when i add my sales from 2023 from JANUARY 1ST till DECEMBER are less than the total is showing. 

[kensgiftshop]

It'll be from January 1st to December 31st.

[dbfolks166mt]

     There are a number of answers to your question. From just a plain sale start and stop it runs from 1/1/xxxx - 12/31/xxxx. From a financial and tax perspective there are two pieces the first is how eBay/Adyen recognize the sale from a cash flow perspective and what they recognize and report on your 1099 if you get one, or would recognize. EBay uses a form of cash accounting where the recognize the sale dollars based on the movement of the funds which can get complicated when transactions cross the calendar year and or the funds are held. 

    From a tax perspective it depends on what type of accounting you use to keep your own books and records. The two most common methods are accrual and cash accounting. With accrual both revenue and expenses are recognized at the time they happen regardless of the cash flow. With cash accounting revenue and expenses are recognized based on the cash flow. Similar to eBay's accounting personal accounting that uses the cash method can be complicated by transactions that cross the calendar year. 

[caldreamer]

EBAY yearly totals (Jan. 1st - Dec. 31) show "gross sales" (purchase price + shipping).   Total amount of money that you rec'd from the customer. 

IRS requires that you report "gross sales" on Federal income taxes form and then deduct "business expenses" (EBAY fees, cost of goods, packing supplies, cost of printing labels, mileage, etc).   You pay income tax on "net amount" after deductions.

[mam98031]

Are you talking about for IRS, reporting income?

Most people do their books on a calendar year which is 1-1 through 12-31.

But if you have an LLC or other business formed and your books are kept on a fiscal year, then you would be filing taxes on that method of accounting.    

[gurlcat]

The first year that I thought my sales were likely to come very close to the $20K auto-reporting threshhold, I got very confused because according to the website my total was just OVER $20K, but my 1099 said it was just UNDER it.  For the life of me I couldn't figure it out, so I contacted Ebay For Business, and they asked "Did you have any returns?"  -Well yeah, a few.  And it turned out that was the exact difference.  

[chapeau-noir]

Oh gawd, I'm already broken down by age and sex, are we having monthly breakdowns now?

(I no longer sell enough to get a 1099 form, so I simply take January 1 through December 31 for tax reporting).

[dbfolks166mt]

EBAY yearly totals (Jan. 1st - Dec. 31) show "gross sales" (purchase price + shipping).   Total amount of money that you rec'd from the customer. 

     Remember that those eBay numbers are based on the cash flow not the sale date. If you sell something on 30 December 2023 and the buyer does not pay until 2 January or the funds are not deposited in your account before 1 January then those dollars will be part of your 2024 sales from a sales perspective. 

     Depending on the accounting method YOU use for your taxes and own records those numbers may or may not agree with your own figures. The two most common types of accounting are accrual and cash. Both have their advantages and disadvantages but accrual is the only one recognized by GAAP. You must declare the type of accounting you utilize on your schedule C and once declared must remain constant year to year. You can change but it is a PITA. 

IRS requires that you report "gross sales" on Federal income taxes form and then deduct "business expenses" (EBAY fees, cost of goods, packing supplies, cost of printing labels, mileage, etc).   You pay income tax on "net amount" after

[mam98031]

Small correction if you are talking about how to determine what sales are counted in December of any given year verse January.  Or any other month for that matter.

Ebay uses Payout Dates.  So when the money is transferred to your Bank Account is when that sale is counted as your sale.  So using your example above, you are correct, something sold in December but not on the Payout until January is in 2024 income / sales.

It does not go by the date the buyer buys the item or pays for the item.  It goes by when the payout is issued.

I would assume the exception to this would be those that use some of their funds to purchase things on Ebay.  I'm guessing here, but likely that the date the seller uses the money from their MP account would be considered the Payout date.

[dbfolks166mt]

Small correction if you are talking about how to determine what sales are counted in December of any given year verse January.  Or any other month for that matter.

Ebay uses Payout Dates.  So when the money is transferred to your Bank Account is when that sale is counted as your sale.  So using your example above, you are correct, something sold in December but not on the Payout until January is in 2024 income / sales.

It does not go by the date the buyer buys the item or pays for the item.  It goes by when the payout is issued.

     From an eBay transaction perspective that is correct. From a seller perspective it may or may not be depending on what form of accounting this use for their own records and what form they declare on their schedule C when they do the taxes. 

I would assume the exception to this would be those that use some of their funds to purchase things on Ebay.  I'm guessing here, but likely that the date the seller uses the money from their MP account would be considered the Payout date.

[mam98031]

Yes I know it is correct but thank you for verifying that.  I'm just saying you are confusing the issue as you are talking about one thing and others about another.  A little clarity would help which is why I posted what I did.

The way Ebay distinguishes sales for the year can be different than how a seller keeps their personal books.  But the seller needs to understand Ebay's method so they are not confused by it or miss something.  Or worse yet get frustrated because they can't get their numbers to balance.