eBay

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎12-02-2021

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/A-big-change-to-federal-tax-reporting-laws-that-will-aff...

browntbdd · ‎04-11-2022

The taxation process is flawed

Why do we disincentivize income?

We should strongly advocate for income growth and not tax it.

tax consumption

Pay your “fair share” when you consume

No need for yearly IRS INSANITY, pay your bill at every transaction and see your government participation level

Fairtax.org

sulus-0 · ‎04-14-2022

Great explanation. As a small hobbies seller this new regulation blew me away. Why don’t they make it $5K a year. This is a nightmare for me. I but stuff at flea markets, refurbish the (nerves keep track of labor or materials) and often lose money on the deal. I pay enough on regular taxes and now the WH administration wants to kill my little retirement hobby.

I hope EBay fights this new regulation. Tell me how to help?

mega-ma-roo · ‎04-14-2022

@sulus-0 wrote:
I hope EBay fights this new regulation. Tell me how to help?

Here’s what you can do

We invite you to join the conversation on eBay Main Street, where you can contact Congress on behalf of our community of sellers, small business owners, and entrepreneurs.

ALWAYS be honest and exceedingly FAIR!

The Volunteer eBay Community Mentor formerly known as juanmogamer

dbfolks166mt · ‎04-14-2022

This OP is over 4 months old and has grown into continual piggy back post for everything related to taxes, the law, the 1099 issues................... It really needs to be archived.

httommi · ‎04-16-2022

It's not worth the time, costs and forms that have to be filled out, reported and filed ( which cost more money ) to sell a bunch of used stuff I have had for years. NO ONE keeps records of anything past the normal requirements so if you can't prove you paid 400 dollars for something ten years ago and sell it for 200 now, you are still forced to pay double tax on those items. It should be considered illegal to do this because we are being ripped off. I made the choice to leave Ebay after over 20 years as a result of this complete control and nonsense. We have NO rights anymore.

mega-ma-roo · ‎04-16-2022

Just for the sake of accuracy:

@httommi wrote:
It's not worth the time, costs and forms that have to be filled out, reported and filed ( which cost more money )

There are free tax filing services available and there are no charges for any forms.

. . . if you can't prove you paid 400 dollars for something ten years ago and sell it for 200 now, you are still forced to pay double tax on those items.

IRS will accept reasonable estimates of the cost of items when they are made in good faith. Do a search for "Cohan rule".

ALWAYS be honest and exceedingly FAIR!

The Volunteer eBay Community Mentor formerly known as juanmogamer

drnickriviera995 · ‎06-20-2022

Can anyone clarify, is it 600 in TOTAL sales or NET sales after fees?

mega-ma-roo · ‎06-20-2022

@drnickriviera995 wrote:
Can anyone clarify, is it 600 in TOTAL sales or NET sales after fees?

As Form 1099-K is an IRS information return, it includes the gross amount of all reportable payment transactions within a calendar year, based on when funds settle to eBay, not necessarily when funds are received by sellers. This amount does not include any adjustments, for example, credits, discounts, fees, refunds, or any other adjustable amounts. This means that the gross amount on your Form 1099-K may not be the final reportable amount on your tax return. You should consult your tax advisor to determine how best to use the information on your Form 1099-K when filing your personal and/or business income tax return.

ALWAYS be honest and exceedingly FAIR!

The Volunteer eBay Community Mentor formerly known as juanmogamer

jusnod77 · ‎06-20-2022

I'm appalled and embarrassed at the number of people in these forums who attack those not jumping for joy to report more and pay more taxes. So before you get into your holier than thou "pay your fair share" narrative, let's talk about what is truly "fair". Did you even know that YOUR founding fathers fought a revolution so that you could pay ZERO taxes? Look it up. For quite some time your constitution literally read "no income tax except on overseas sales", until big government politicians started the tax ball really rolling. Somehow, we all made it through back then didn't we?

And why did your countrymen fight for their independence in the first place? Because England was increasing taxes to 2%. Yes 2%. That was a big deal back then, because all Immigrants came to America in order to avoid paying the high taxes in Europe.. which even then was only a gross total of around 20%. You pay OVER 50% everything accounted for now. Those people escaped so they could have lives, so they could have some pocket change instead of the rich politicians getting richer. That's what people on ebay are trying to do to.

You've allowed a government to creep and creep taxes up to the point where you are taxed by your city, county, state, and federal. Not to mention SS fees and the like. Not to mention high insurance rates.

Do you really think it takes HALF of every man, woman, and child's income, for a few men to sit at the top of the pyramid and smoke cigars, drive Lincolns, and go to Epstein Island? Oh, Roads and national defense you say? Doesn't cost 100 Trillion to pave asphalt brother. Defense you say? That bill was only 11% of the budget last year. And when was the last time we were invaded.. 1792?

Let's skip to the end. You've accepted paying this level of tax because this was the level you were born into, not because it is "morally just and fair". History proves otherwise, all of history. Even GOD himself only asks for 10%. Read this as many times as you need to.

rushandtriumph · ‎06-20-2022

I'll listen to an explanation which includes a religious slant, and take it into consideration. Nonetheless, that will not stop me from telling you all what is really going on here.

1) Let's stop pretending that Big Business and Big Government have suddenly stopped being in cahoots with one other. eBay, trying to portray itself as Switzerland here - the largest online marketplace in the world, had nothing to do with this? eBay did little to combat this legislation which effectively "sand-bagged" eBay sellers of all levels. Do you really think eBay's going to absorb all the costs and confusion No way. Just guess "to whom?" the burden will be passed.

2) While everyone was squabbling (justifiably) over the largest tax threshold change in American history (check the Federal tax tables as long as they've existed), eBay, contrary to popular belief, actually raised its fees and charges, while re-categorizing items to its financial benefit. The 2022 eBay charges are all over the Internet. Here's one from eBay itself:

https://export.ebay.com/en/seller-updates/releases-archive/2022-winter-seller-update/fees/

3) A lot of sellers who would rather keep their head down and convince themselves that there are "no new taxes in play" ought to realize that it's time to wake up. No new taxes? You have got to be kidding me! The benchmark on which the IRS focuses is the groups of sellers who reach and surpass the need for 1099-K level forms. The IRS just reduced that benchmark amount from $20,000 to $600. That is a 97% leap! That is Tectonic Plate Level Shifting of Taxes! That is 3 dots away from zero, baseline, every little penny you have on the mantle.

4) As you probably already know, Congress lowered the threshold for issuing a 1099-K in Section 9674 of the American Rescue Plan. More people are grappling with many more 1099-K forms - which have (needlessly) become much more complicated. So now millions of Americans with non-taxable events are getting nothing but confused by receiving 1099-K forms since the law went into effect. A used good sold for less than the original purchase price will not create any taxable income. Yet these transactions will now trigger IRS reporting requirements, yielding confusion and ultimately overreporting of income, which could result in overpayment as well as ineligibility for certain tax benefits. Certified accountants want nothing to do with the mess congress has just created. There are thousands of articles written about the mass confusions stemming from the 2022 1009-K Reduction Disaster. Here's one from the Journal of Accountancy:

https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2022/mar/new-lower-form-1099-k-threshold-cautions-criticis...

5) Make sure your quarterly IRS payments resolve with the new payments you're receiving because contrary to popular belief, the fees and charges have indeed changed per the chart I posted in #2). And this cold hard fact is starting to settle in - uncomfortably: Sales over $600 must to be reported using Form 1099-K. That's what the IRS focuses on. The IRS took a giant shift in its position - and it happened fast. Let's dig a little deeper...... Why were all beaches completely full during the COVID crisis? Somebody has to subsidize all those free rides which were given out for the past few years.

Here's what's going on. I've been trying to tell everybody, but no one one wants to read between the lines. The Big Money Sellers can outgun the IRS, so the IRS is going after the small fries now. And all of you who are defending eBay - "Oh eBay is just being compliant." What a cop out! eBay is suddenly nothing but an online entity of neutrality. LOL! Believe whatever makes you feel comfortable. I'm telling you the truth. And if I'm lyin', I'm dyin'!!!!

dorwage-40 · ‎08-11-2022

The items I sold on Ebay totaled more than $600 this year but I do not want to pay taxes on it because I lost money on what I sold. The amount I paid for the items were greater than what I sold them for on Ebay. How do I avoid paying taxes on those losses when they send me the 1099. I do not want to get in trouble with the government but I do not owe taxes on that amount. Thanks!

mr_lincoln · ‎08-11-2022

@dorwage-40

This is kind of older thread and eBay just posted an announcement about a partnering company that can help with the issue. However, I can tell you this much. If your documented cost of goods and expenses exceed your reportable income from sales then you will NOT owe any taxes on what you sold because it will be reported as a loss BUT you also will NOT benefit from that loss because it will not reduce any of your other tax burden on other income streams you may have ...

So in a nut shell you don't have anything to worry about other then reporting it all at tax time ... plenty of time to plan ahead.

Mr. L

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

luckythewinner · ‎08-11-2022

@mr_lincoln wrote:
@dorwage-40
This is kind of older thread and eBay just posted an announcement about a partnering company that can help with the issue. However, I can tell you this much. If your documented cost of goods and expenses exceed your reportable income from sales then you will NOT owe any taxes on what you sold because it will be reported as a loss BUT you also will NOT benefit from that loss because it will not reduce any of your other tax burden on other income streams you may have ...
So in a nut shell you don't have anything to worry about other then reporting it all at tax time ... plenty of time to plan ahead.

I think "reporting it at tax time" is exactly what dorwage-40 was asking about. Because if you are casual seller who does not have a "documented cost of goods sold", then this new threshold does present a new issue.

In the past, if you were a casual seller who paid $7500 for a widget a decade earlier and sold it on eBay for $750, you simply left the income off your tax return. (And let me preempt the chorus of "tax cheat" and "failing to report" comments - because in this specific instance, this was not cheating on taxes or failing to report income because the IRS did not require you to report it.)

But with the new 1099-K threshold, in that same situation he will now receive a 1099-K that he will have to deal with on his tax return. I think the OP is asking how exactly he would do that because "planning ahead" is exactly why he is trying to do.

In the article in the OP, eBay says this:

"Only goods that are sold for a profit are considered taxable, so you won’t owe any taxes on something you sell for less than what you paid for it. For example, if you bought a bike for $1,000 a few years ago, and then sold it on eBay today for $700, that $700 you made generally would not be subject to income tax."

But simply saying that the sale "will not be subject to income tax" does not explain how one might go about reporting the 1099-K on a tax return to accomplish this.