As April 15 approaches ... more tax questions

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Posted By: Joann

Eric,

Thanks so much. I'm doing it right in that I am looking at profits on each card, regardless of what I do with the money (like buy more cards). I have a spreadsheet that shows when I bought each card and for how much, and that's the basis going forward for whenever, if ever, I sell it.

Maybe I should go back and calculate my ebay fees (easy enough to get the 5% of total of ebay sales last year), etc.

This was the first year I sold cards, so no profit last 3/5 years. But I did download and print out the pages from irs.gov that discusses that test and the change in status it brings.

Oh, and 1250 is a code section relating to capital gains, but not collectibles. Duh. Collectibles is in the IRS code on capital gains for items held for more than one year. Might be section 408. I'm better off just using the other income line I think.

Thanks for your detailed and helpful response. I liked the suggestion on offsetting gains with large losses when it makes sense. If I ever end up with a real dog of a card (hasn't happened yet, thank goodness) I'll keep it in mind.

Joann