I didn't want to hijack the Ticketmaster thread, but had a similar question.

We sell stuff all the time on second-hand markets. Books, clothes, furniture, etc. It's not a moneymaker, but it adds up. With the 1099K threshold coming down, I bet we get a few from EBay, PayPal, Venmo, etc.

I've read plenty about how you only account for your profit. Truthfully, nothing we're selling is a profit. What I haven't seen is a good recommendation on how to keep records on what you're buying and selling. But it just seems like an absolute mess to track items that you *might sell* five or ten years later, and I've got no way to prove what I bought 5 years ago.

But if you write down $0 profit, are you pretty much inviting an audit? Just curious on others thoughts on how to track this and what is reasonable.

think about it just like you sold your house. You paid x and sold for Y. You have reportable profit on the difference. You can't pick a random number for what you paid. If you can't support it then you paid zero. So, yes, it is an issue if you ever were to get audited.

Thanks. I do get the concept. But a house is typically an appreciating asset and often there are a lot of records on hand for sale of a home.

I'm talking about a book that was bought new for $20, maybe sold for $10. Or a couch that was bought for $2k, sold for $400.

I just think it's totally gotten out of hand (especially the '26 $600 limit). I guess it's easier to pay the tax than track all of that stuff and that's just sad. Government getting one more ounce of flesh wherever they can.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/actions-to-take-if-a-form-1099-k-is-received-in-error-or-with-incorrect-information#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20a%20taxpayer%20who,Sold%20at%20a%20Loss%20%24700.

Quote:

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Personal item sold at a loss
Similarly, if a taxpayer receives a Form 1099-K for a personal item sold at a loss, report the information on Schedule 1 with offsetting transactions.
For example, a taxpayer who received a Form 1099-K for selling a couch online for $700 would report on Form 1040:

• Part I Line 8z Other Income Form 1099-K Personal Item Sold at a Loss $700.
• Part II Line 24z Other Adjustments - Form 1099-K Personal Item Sold at a Loss $700.

The net effect of these two adjustments on adjusted gross income would be $0.

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BenTheGoodAg said:

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Thanks. I do get the concept. But a house is typically an appreciating asset and often there are a lot of records on hand for sale of a home.

I'm talking about a book that was bought new for $20, maybe sold for $10. Or a couch that was bought for $2k, sold for $400.

I just think it's totally gotten out of hand (especially the '26 $600 limit). I guess it's easier to pay the tax than track all of that stuff and that's just sad. Government getting one more ounce of flesh wherever they can.

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Well, you were always supposed to report all your income, whether there is a $600 limit, a $25,000 limit, or a $1,000,000 limit. The lower limit is going to ensure more people do that is the only difference.

But your comments are on point. Most people will not have the records to prove what they paid for the battery charger, skill saw, the wheelbarrow, the color tv, or the clothes that no longer fit that they bought 3 or 5 or 10 years ago. Compound that with the items you received as a gift or inherited 25 years ago. It would be a record keeping nightmare for the small amount of income most get from reselling their stuff on Ebay and the like.

For those who buy and resell, less of an issue of course.

where's an executive order when you need one?