Ebay tax reporting drops from $20,000 to $600

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Lucas00

I'm definitely new to this, I don't play with stocks or really any investments. Mainly Just cash and cards as much as possible (I know cards are an investment but I guess I never looked at them that way, especially when selling on eBay to purchase another card or whatnot). I honestly don't know the ins and outs at all. Just from simple research headlines that I guess didn't explain it very well to me. I was under the impression the deductions were only possible if you were set-up as a business. I'm pretty sure the eBay fee part at least? Maybe not, I have no idea.
I have only based my possible losses on the information I had which added up to the 40% of the total sale which is clearly wrong. I almost always sell on smaller margins so this implied say I got a card for $100, sold it for $150 I would be taxed 40% of $150 being $60. I wasn't aware it was only on the net gain. I Actually feel foolish now knowing that. I also couldn't find anything not flashing a 28% tax rate until I dug far deeper. Seems clickbait and scare tactics definitely worked on me this time.

Thanks for the rundown.

I want to make it clear though, I still think it is unnecessary and terribly egregious for a small time seller. And should be reversed asap.

Well, I'm the polar opposite of you, and definitely not new to taxes. LOL

I was afraid from what you were typing that you might not be familiar with how this works tax-wise in regards to cards and our hobby, so jumped in to hopefully provide some guidance. I've typed way too many answers for things like this already so, rather than repeating myself and just typing more, go back and read anything else I already posted in this thread. And then do a search for posts I've made and you can go read through and catch up on all the tax related posts I've made. You will find a wealth of knowledge in them. Just remember though, tax laws can (and sometimes do) dramatically change overnight, so something I wrote/said a while back may not be 100% valid anymore. And when in doubt, reach out and try to check with a qualified tax professional, especially one familiar with the state you're in.

As for this whole thing being so egregious for the small-time sellers, I don't necessarily disagree. The government is out for the bigger fish, but unfortunately these new reporting laws and thresholds are seen by them as the most efficient, thorough, and possibly politically correct ways to go about seeking better compliance with and enforcement of our tax laws. Unfortunately, for these new laws/methods to work, they kind of have to cover and be applicable to everyone to work. Don't forget that part of this is also to deter others from skirting the tax laws in the future. And the big fish of tomorrow usually start out as the little fish of today. So unfortunately, I doubt you'll see these new rules/laws being repealed anytime soon, if ever at all.

To expound on my earlier fish analogy, think of the government/IRS as fishermen casting out their nets to get a great catch. As in reality with real fishermen though, when they pull the nets back in they will, along with the big fish they sought to catch, also inevitably have ensnared a lot of little fish and other unintended creatures they weren't really after. Not much else they can do though if they really want to crack down on the tax evasion/fraud problem. Good luck, and feel free to ask if you have any more questions.