I heard about this today from a member and reading this post has not only been informative, but confusing and frustrating. It is going to be a nightmare to do this. Is IRS really so desperate for funding that they need to create a system that will sweep up millions and millions of ordinary folks who manage to sell $600 or more in a year in an online marketplace? Can the $600 threshold be raised to a more reasonable amount? What would it take to do that?
I am refining and downsizing my collection. Most of the items I'm selling were acquired at a cost, although I have no written sales records of what I paid for 99+% of those items. I understand paying taxes on sales at the capital gains rate, but how do I establish a price paid for something I sell so that I don't have to pay taxes on the gross amount? Will the IRS just take my word for what I paid? I imagine many of you are in the same boat. How are you going to handle it?
Not long ago I sold a Jim Rice signed baseball for $25, which is what I paid for it, when I bought a few from Sure Shot Promotions. After ebay fees, I lost money on this baseball, but under the new law ebay would show this as a $30 income ($25 + $5 postage), when in reality it was a net loss to me. Having to pay tax on a net loss is salt in the wound. Many of you probably have clear memories of what you paid for certain things but would be at a loss if IRS asked you to prove it. Some of the things I am selling, I purchased 20- 40 years ago. No sales receipts and memory would not be reliable. Some items were acquired in trades. How do we deal with these issues?
If I bought a card in 1990 for $500 and sold it in 2022 for $1000, and have no documentation of my buy price, how can I avoid paying tax on the entire $1000? This has been fun as a 'hobby' and if I made money selling an item, it has been my means of funding other purchases for my collection.
It seems that this may push many hobbyists into creating "businesses" and all of the headaches that will bring just to avoid overpaying taxes. I don't want to look at my hobby as a business. Am I wrong? Am I making any sense?
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